The Door Home
by angrbodagiantess
Summary: The princes of Asgard find themselves in a palatial house with no way to return home. But what adventures await behind the countless doors in this mysterious place? What danger? Pre-Thor. Adventure, bromance, h/c, Loki-whump, gen, no slash, some angst. Ongoing series.
1. The House - Ch 1

**A/N: Here's a new series for you guys! This takes place hundreds of years before _Thor_. I tend to ramble so those of you interested in more details about this series, check out the A/N at the end of this chapter.**

_**Important note**_**: my age-headcanon applies here. Essentially, Asgardians take thousands of years to reach mental maturity, and only about 20 years to reach physical maturity. So Thor and Loki are psychologically in their late teens, early twenties. **

_**Tags **_**(for series): **adventure, h/c, gen, no slash, bromance, Loki-whump, some angst, some violence****

_**Tags**_** (for episode)****:**** **sci-fi elements, **all of the above except the violence**

* * *

**_The House_**

**\- Chapter 1 -**

He moved frantically down the corridor, trying this door, then that, then another- none of them would budge. Loki hissed under his breath, then, looking back, felt panic rising in his chest. It was still following him!

Another door, then another. He banged on a few, trying to open them, but as he predicted, none of them moved. He favored his left leg and tried his best to ignore the pain.

The white marble hallways remained silent. His pursuer made no noise and it unnerved Loki more than anything. What could he even call it? He had no words, no name for such a thing; he had difficulty even forming thoughts as to what it could be. Simply calling it a _spirit_, or _phantom_ seemed ridiculous, he knew it was something_ more_, something indescribable, although he didn't know why he knew. It was an instinct, like the instinct of a child to be afraid of a storm. The irony wasn't lost on him that he had rarely ever been afraid of storms, given what they represented to him.

He crashed into the door at the end of the corridor, although it, too, did not move.

_No, no! _It was a dead end. Why hadn't he been watching? There weren't any windows in this place, he didn't know where he was, how he had arrived here. And where was Thor, hadn't he been with him on Asgard? His mind was a jumble, he didn't know what to do.

He turned around and braced his back against the door, watching with wide eyes what he felt approaching.

Suddenly, at the corner of his eye, something blinked, like a light. He jumped toward it, desperate to find _something_ to aid him. It was a small panel beside the door on the wall, it glowed with a subtle red light as Loki attempted to discern its purpose. Gazing backward, he quickened his efforts. _I still have time, still have time..._

As if on instinct, Loki swiped the metal on his right wrist across the panel, just as the door hissed open with a groan and a click. Surprised but relieved, Loki didn't spare a glance behind as he rushed through the door and closed it shut behind.

.

_Two hours earlier._

.

Loki awoke with his head pounding, his limbs tired. His eyes were heavy, as if he had slept too long or too little. There was something soft beneath him, although his legs dangled off the side of whatever it was.

_"There is a Door open on the fifth flo-"_

His eyes opened. He blinked, then blinked several times more as his eyes adjusted to the light.

_"There is a D-Door open on the fifth floor."_

Loki shook his head and tried to sit up, looking about. _What was that?_ Had he just heard a voice or had he imagined it?

There was an odd crackling sound, then nothing.

Sitting up, he looked around. He was in an oddly shaped room, octagonal, with four doors, each across from each other. The walls were of a white marble, the lights glowing dimly at the lip of the ceiling- although it was still bright. The floor, too, was marble, with gold trims where it met the walls. Large black-marble archways hung over each door and... he finally noticed what he had been laying on, a long flat couch of a deep red. Several other couches sat scattered in the room, as well as a few cushions on the floor. All in all an elegant room, yet-

_Odd..._

Sitting up further, the god attempted to stand only to fall back down when his head swam. _What's happened to me?_ He jumped a little when a voice filled the room again.

_"You- a-are in-"_ it stopped a moment, _"-i-in... There i-is...on the...floor-r-r-"_

Loki frowned fiercely at the ceiling since it appeared that's where the voice was coming from.

"Who is that?" he asked the room.

The voice was a woman's, almost...artificial? It didn't continue.

Looking down, Loki frowned at some sort of silver metal that was clasped around his right wrist. _What's this?_ He tapped it and held it to the light, curious as to what its purpose was, and just _who_ had put it on him. After several tries, he quickly realized he couldn't take it off. He pulled at it and strained himself, but it remained, solid and smooth. Shaking his head, he decided to ignore it for now.

Finding his footing, he stretched his legs and began walking around. There wasn't much to the room except for the few couches and the...doors. Should he try one? But which one. He looked between them, they were identical. Like most everything else in the room, they too were white, almost like marble themselves.

Quickly tiring of standing around, and now that his dizzy spell had ended, Loki walked to the nearest door to his left and, carefully, reached out a hand and pulled the gilded handle.

.

Corridors. Lots and lots of corridors. And doors, doors that lined both walls and never seemed to end. Everything here was marble as well, except the doors were of a cherry-colored wood. If Loki didn't know better he would think he was in some sort of palace. There were no windows.

Going back to the octagonal room, he found that the two doors, each to the left and right of the one he had just tried, had similar long stretches of corridors, although one branched off and the other led to a door at the end that wouldn't open.

So, the fourth door...

_"There is a-a Door op-pen on the fifth floor,"_ said the artificial woman's voice again, stuttering for a moment.

"Who is saying that?!" Loki screamed to the ceiling, suddenly frustrated. It was clear that the voice was some sort of machine as her inflection was exactly the same as the first time she had spoken those words. That didn't tell him much, except that wherever he was had technology. It also told him something else, that this place, whatever it is, has at least five floors- which meant stairs and...a ground floor, perhaps?

Slightly encouraged, he reached for the fourth door's handle, only to find that it wouldn't open. _Hm._ Locked? He tried several more times but it wouldn't budge.

He left out the first door he had tried and stopped at nearly every door to see where they might lead. Nothing. Not a single one would open.

_"There...D-Door- floor..." _

Loki sighed loudly and shook his head. What _was _that voice? It stuttered and repeated almost the same thing every time. Was it some sort of machine? Whatever it was, it didn't seem inclined to answer him so he ignored it.

The corridors seemed endless. There were no windows, no matter how far he went. His attempt to find stairs proved fruitless and he wondered how large this place could be. And how had he arrived here? He had been in Asgard, in the palace, the last he remembered.

Another handle that wouldn't budge. This was becoming tiresome.

_"May-y...help y-you?"_ asked the voice.

Loki's eyebrows lifted. "Are you speaking to me?" No answer. He waited a moment, then asked, "Is anyone there?"

Again, silence, until, _"P-Please m-make...fifth floor. Ther-re...intr-intruder-"_ It cut off with a strange noise Loki couldn't decipher. What was wrong with the machine? It's words, however, made him nervous. Intruder, it had said. What did that mean? Was Loki not an intruder as well?

"If you wish me to go to the fifth floor," Loki tried, tentatively, "might you direct me to the stairs?" He didn't expect an answer, until it _did_ answer.

_"T-To y-your right. A- A-ggg... Two corridor-r-s...then-n left. P-Plea-" _Again, it cut off, although he had his answer.

.

The machine's instructions were vague, but he managed to find the stairwell with some backtracking. The stairs were as elegant as the rest of the place, spiraling upward with pale marble and a red wood railing that reflected in the subtle light.

Although this place was serene, it also put Loki on edge given that there seemed to be no end to it- and it was _quiet_. Too quiet. His light footsteps echoed as if Thor himself were stomping toward him.

Looking up in the stairwell, he couldn't even see a ceiling; it seemed to go on forever. Shuddering, Loki forced himself not to look up as he made his way to the fifth floor. Apparently, he had already been on the ground floor, even if he couldn't find an exit. No matter, perhaps, after he found out whatever the machine was on about, he would return and try to find a way out.

_"There is a Door open on the fifth floor,"_ said the machine. _"Th-There...an intruder. Ple-e-ease...caution."_

_Caution?_ "Why?" asked Loki as he walked carefully away from the stairs into the corridor, which looked exactly the same as the others.

No answer.

He walked steadily, eyeing each door and watching behind in case this _intruder_ might try to attack. Why was he even listening to this artificial voice, anyway? He supposed there wasn't much choice given that he couldn't find his way out. Perhaps, if he dealt with this _'Door on the fifth floor'_ then the machine might help him. He didn't know what else he could do.

Right when he was about to ask the voice where this open door might be, he saw it. Indeed there was an open door, some distance ahead, on the right.

_Hm._ Might this room lead to somewhere? And why would the voice care if there was a door open, was that such a terrible thing?

He approached it slowly with deliberate attempts at soundless steps, wondering where this 'intruder' might be. Surely whoever it was was long gone by now?

When he was only a few steps away, the voice spoke. _"D-Do not-t enter. Y-You are in-in-n danger. Pl-Please t-turn around."_

Eyes going wide, Loki held his breath. He didn't know why, but those words sent a shiver down his spine and froze him to the spot.

_"Please turn-n around."_

He didn't want to. "What's behind me," he whispered breathlessly.

_"Pl-Please run."_

Loki ran.

.

Every door, locked! He had soon forgotten the door that had been ajar, suddenly realizing there was nothing he wanted more than to avoid that open door. When he finally caught his breath as he leaned against the wall, he dared a glance behind.

Nothing.

What had he been running from? Yet still, there was an increasing sense of dread, of something waiting just around the corner. It was not unlike being a child again, afraid of something under his bed or waiting in that shadowed corner, ready to pounce the moment he shut his eyes.

Sweat gathered around his high collar and he knew it wasn't from the run. Before he could begin to relax, again the voice in the ceiling asked him, in that ever-polite tone, to run. The voice _really_ wasn't helping, but it was more than that. He _knew_, somehow instinctively, that there was danger approaching and that if he didn't run something terrible would happen.

Looking behind as he ran- and again seeing nothing -Loki didn't see the sharp _drop_ of the floor suddenly not being there around a corner. He yelped in surprise as he fell, his left ankle and elbow cracking on the marble floor. His eyes watered as he hissed at the pain, although he didn't think he had broken anything. It still hurt so he assumed he had sprained at least his ankle.

"Thank you for the warning!" he screamed to the ceiling, although there was no reply.

He gritted his teeth and looked around, then realized he had fallen all the way back to the first floor. _Damn._ Why was a huge chunk of the building missing across five floors, suddenly? Looking up, indeed the five levels were missing their floors, although the walls remained intact and, he realized, he might have been able to jump over the expanse if he had been paying attention.

And now he was hurt. Wonderful.

Painstakingly, he got to his feet, although he stayed off his left ankle and flexed his arm, assessing the injury. That one wasn't too bad. Either way, he would heal soon enough, but it might not be as painless a healing if he continued to run around.

Suddenly, the feeling of dread, of being _chased_ returned, just as the voice said, _"The in-intruder is on the-the fourth floor..."_ Loki turned to run. _"...the-e intrud-...third f-floor..."_ He didn't wait to watch, he continued trying doors.

"Are there _any _doors unlocked in this place?" he screeched at the voice, not caring how his voice squeaked.

_"...int-intruder- the...the sec-c-cond fl-"_

Loki growled and made his way to a bend in the corridor.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, Loki, you just up and hurt yourself already. Okay, that was me. Meanie me.  
Chapters within an episode will be updated weekly, give or take a day or two. All future episodes will be updated here, not as separate stories, that way those of you not following me can follow the series by just following this story. **

**_Detailed A/N for series_: **No worries, readers of my other fics, this is my 'writer's block' fic, meaning I only write it when I'm stuck with the others, or possibly when I'm just bored, lol. **I know I'm really bad with updates, so, for this fic, I've made a solemn vow to the gods of fan fiction (honestly!) that I will not begin posting an episode until I've finished it. I've already completed two episodes and the third's almost finished. Even so, I don't want this series to interfere with anything else I write so, I'll tell ya now, there can be long gaps between episodes (could be months). However, the episodes are, more or less, self-contained. They have a main story arc, but each episode is its own story.  
I also think I should point out that since I write this fic when I have writer's block, the quality might be...iffy. I'm also trying to ignore my perfectionism so I can write faster (succeeding, so far) but, again, that might bring the quality down a bit. Feel free to point out grammatical mistakes, though!  
**


	2. The House - Ch 2

**A/N: New chapter a bit earlier than I was planning since I've already proofread and edited it. Hope I haven't confused you guys with all that talk of "episodes" and whatnot, lol. Just think of it like a tv show- this is like the first episode. Then we'll have another episode after this one ends. I think you get the picture.**

* * *

_**The House**_

**\- Chapter 2 -**

.

_Present_

.

The door clicked open and Loki rushed inside, the relief he felt at being able to open at least_ one_ door was nearly overwhelming. But would it even matter? Would this door keep the intruder out? And how had he known that the strange metal around his wrist would open the door?

He leaned against the door with his back and finally looked at the room. He blinked at it. _What?_ A series of long, square, shallow pools of crystal blue water stretched across the floor, some large, some small. White pillars held up waterfalls that fell into the numerous pools as deep lights lit up the pools themselves. Plants hung from the pillars as well.

The room was large, but not overly much; some sort of bath-house, Loki guessed. The high ceiling was filled with blue, green and white crystals that glowed like an ocean's waves, cascading like a drumbeat from wall to wall. It was beautiful and unlike anything Loki had ever seen. He had the urge to plunge into one of the glowing pools- he was certain it would be divine.

As he walked slowly, something to his right caught his eye. He squinted at it, wondering if he was hallucinating.

The red caught his eye first, then the blonde hair, then the silver armor- _Thor?_ Loki rushed over, panic rising as he approached the prone form of his brother, whose foot was halfway in one of the pools.

"Thor...Thor!" He winced at his leg, having forgotten it, but he didn't care as he fell next to the older god. "Brother, are you-?"

Immediately, Thor jerked up, the back of his head catching Loki's nose and causing him to cry out.

"Ah! Thor!" Loki yelled. He shut his eyes for a moment but still worried over Thor, determined not to take his eyes off him until he knew he was well.

"Loki?" Thor sat up straight, back rigid. "What's- where are we? How did we..?" he looked around in a hurry, wide-eyed and on alert.

Loki nearly had to duck when he felt Mjolnir flying passed his head, called to Thor's hand from somewhere behind. He cursed. "Thor! Stop, it's only me!" He held his nose and the thunder god finally seemed to notice him, eyes falling on him and frowning.

"Are you-"

"No, I'm not well!" Loki countered immediately. He tentatively removed his hand from his nose and sniffed. "Am I bleeding?"

Thor continued frowning and shook his head. As if what Loki had said finally registered, he sat up on his legs and leaned over the younger. "Are you otherwise hurt, then?" He pawed at Loki's clothing, checking for injuries.

Loki batted his hands away- in truth, _feigning _annoyance because Thor's presence never ceased to make him feel safer, whatever was happening.

Thor didn't stop, however, despite his protests, as his hand came to rest on Loki's cheek. "Are you _hurt_?" Thor asked, his tone demanding but gentle. Loki nearly rolled his eyes as his shoulders slumped.

"It's...just my leg, and...my elbow, but-" Thor was already checking him, _moving_ his injured leg and arm. Loki hissed. "_Stop_ that, I'm fine! You'll only make it worse, let me heal." Thor leaned back, dropping his hands. He still looked very worried. "I'm _fine_," Loki repeated. He was acting annoyed, as any younger sibling should, but right now, he _wanted_ Thor to worry over him; he wasn't certain why.

The elder looked around, asking again, "Where are we?"

He didn't see the way Loki's eyes flitted nervously to the door he had just entered. "I don't know. I only awoke a little while ago, myself."

Thor looked to him, eyebrows slightly raised. "And yet you had time to injure yourself. You do not waste time, do you?" He chuckled, but sobered when Loki barely acknowledged his quip since he was too busy staring at the door. "What, brother?"

"I think we should leave," Loki whispered. He could _feel_ the intruder, whatever it was, at the door, as if trying to get in. He unconsciously pulled closer to Thor as he continued staring where he was sure the _thing_ would emerge- but why couldn't he see it, hear it? It didn't make sense. Was he frightened of a figment of his imagination?

Thor stood up and, carefully, brought Loki with him. Although he could have stood on his own, Loki allowed Thor to hold some of his weight, their closeness banishing some of his fear. He breathed heavily, in and out, and didn't care that he probably looked frightened of a door, right now.

"Loki, what is it?" Thor asked.

No sooner had Thor spoken that the door began to _bend_ inward, as if a terrible pressure were pushing it to near-breaking point, but the door held against all logic. It was _metal_, Loki now noticed, and whatever could cause it to bend so sent shivers down Loki's body.

"What in Helheim is _that_?" asked Thor. He held Mjolnir aloft, although Loki wasn't certain that would prove at all useful against whatever was outside.

"Thor," he whispered, "we need to leave. Let's go this way," he tried to usher Thor away from the door, but he held fast.

"What _is that_..?

"Your damned hammer won't help here, we have to _leave_!"

Thor looked ready to be angry at the words, but one look at his brother's wide green eyes had him nodding. "Let's go."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The room of pools- or rather, _rooms_ of pools -had several doors other than the one Loki had entered.

Thor was at a loss, although it became clear that Loki didn't really know what was happening either. All his little brother knew was that _something_ had been chasing him- was _still_ chasing him, that there was some sort of machine-voice that was, presumably, aiding him, and that there was an odd device secured around his wrist that he couldn't remove. Thor had offered to try and remove it with Mjolnir but Loki protested and hissed at his efforts, saying he would just as likely break his arm as get the device off; that would have to wait until later, under more controlled circumstances.

There were, seemingly, endless corridors outside the pool-room. Loki had sighed at the sight, apparently having expected it. The ceiling voice had spoken to them at intervals, although it had said nothing useful and half of whatever it said couldn't be deciphered.

Loki limped but said he would be fine, although he allowed Thor to aid him- which was strange, he would typically push Thor away when he was so lightly hurt. Perhaps his injuries were more serious than he let on? Anything was possible with Loki.

Whatever was following them hadn't shown its face yet and Thor wondered why Loki insisted they run away. The voice, too, wished them to run, although Thor wanted, more than anything, to see whatever this enemy might be. Why was Loki so frightened? At his brother's own admission, he hadn't even _seen_ this 'intruder' the voice insisted was following them. Not that Thor doubted its existence, he had seen himself the way it had moved the door.

"What is this?" Thor stopped suddenly at the end of the corridor, the door in front of them larger than any they had seen thus far.

Loki shook his head. "I don't know." He touched it with delicate fingers as he studied it.

It was a double door and pearly-white, twice as high and wide as the others in the corridor. An onyx elaborate arch, decorated with polished sculpted wings and intricate lines bordered it, stark against the pale surroundings.

"Can I get through this door..." Loki all but whispered to himself as he walked to a panel to the door's right. The panel seemed a strange contrast to the elegant and stately doorway, although Thor supposed he shouldn't be surprised by oddities in this place. _Everything_ about this place was strange so far- although beautiful at times, if ominous. And how had they even arrived here?

Immediately, the red light of the panel turned to blue and the great door clicked, just as Loki rushed to open it.

.

Thor blinked at the sight before them. "A...library?" he asked, absently.

Loki's mouth was open, along with wide eyes that scanned the large room. It was at least a dozen floors high, if not more, the walls covered in lines of books. A mezzanine to their right led to stairs that led to a second level that wrapped around the library, the railing marble-white. More stairs led up to each level in turn, drawing the eye higher and higher until-

Loki inhaled sharply at the sight; a high-domed ceiling of glass that lit up with multi-colored lights of what looked like constellations that shifted every few moments, expanding and shrinking, showing stars that Thor wondered if his brother recognized.

Straight ahead, at nearly a hundred paces, was a wide glass window, crisscrossed with a deep-colored wood that reached nearly to the ceiling. Outside was... What was that?

The two walked toward the window, unsure of what they were seeing. Small stairs, wrapped around a low, half-circle dais, led up to the window as they both peeked out.

"What are we looking at?" Thor asked, staring.

Everything was white. Not white like snow or fog, but a blanketing white, like there might be a sheet over the window itself.

"I don't know... What a strange place," Loki mumbled. "Some sort of bath-house and now a library that rivals the Great Library at home." He blinked and turned around, then met Thor's half-amused gaze. "What?" he frowned.

"Nothing," Thor shrugged, almost smiling. "You like it here."

"Don't be ridiculous. Not only do I not know where _here_ is, but there's some...thing after us. I'd much prefer to go home."

Thor nodded slowly but wasn't sure if he believed him. New things always attracted the younger god, even dangerous things. If it hadn't been discovered or documented extensively yet, Loki was _always_ interested. He doubted this was any different- _thing_ following them or not. Still... Loki's eyes occasionally flicked to the door they had just entered, his nerves obviously still on edge.

"Do you think it will follow us here?" asked Thor.

Loki shrugged but said nothing. He eyed the floor. "This is strange, though."

"What?" Thor stepped up to him, looking at the maroon, carpeted floor. "The floor?"

He hummed in response. "There are books covering every wall and level; why is the floor so blank?" His eyes darted to the door and he froze, breath held, then a moment later he relaxed, although not completely. Thor wondered if he had imagined Loki stepping a little closer to him.

"What does it matter, Loki. Shouldn't we be finding a way out?" Thor's eyes moved to the window again, then the ceiling, which was as blank-white as the window behind its shifting constellations of light. "I'm uncertain if breaking either of these windows would be prudent..."

"No, you're right," Loki interjected, suddenly calculating again, his curiosity put on hold. "Whatever is out there," he walked to the window again, looking out, "I'm not sure I _want_ to know." He whipped around and stared at the door, but a moment later his gaze fixed on a point to his right, toward a wall filled with books. His head tilted as his eyes narrowed.

"What is it?" asked Thor.

The younger moved quickly and hissed at his hurt leg, but didn't wait for Thor to help as he limped quickly to the wall.

"What is it?" Thor asked more urgently, following.

"Don't you see that?" Loki pointed to the books.

"See what?"

"_That_," he continued to point, his finger closing in on a large leather-bound, deep blue book.

"A...book?"

The younger rolled his eyes. "Yes, a book, Thor," he said sarcastically. "I'm pointing out a random book for no reason."

Thor sighed through his nose and reminded himself that the other was hurt, and it wouldn't do to hurt him further. "You don't have to be so _sarcastic_; it's a simple question."

Loki smirked. "I always answer stupid questions with sarcasm."

"_Simple_, brother, not stupid. Whatever you're seeing, I'm not."

Now Loki frowned. He tilted his head at the book, then at Thor. "You don't see that?"

Thor sighed again. "_No_, I do not. Just tell me-"

"There are runes on the binding." He leaned toward it, eyes bright. "Like...rivers of yellow light. You truly can't-"

"I seem to be repeating myself a lot today."

Loki straightened and gave Thor a look. "Now who's being sarcastic."

Thor smiled widely. "I learned from the best."

The trickster narrowed his eyes in return. "Not yet, you haven't." He shook his head and leaned forward to examine the book. His gaze flicked once again to the door, just as Thor's did, before he quickly, as if afraid it might disappear, grabbed the book but held it away from his body.

When several moments passed of his brother simply holding the book at arm's length, Thor perked his lips and said, "Are you...expecting something to happen, or..?"

"Shh," the younger whispered.

Thor scoffed and rolled his eyes. Impatient, and starting to wonder if his brother might have injured more than just his leg, Thor grabbed the book from his brother's hands.

"Thor!" Loki protested.

Chuckling, the elder turned away and used his frame to keep his brother at bay, then opened the book for a peek. "You are too cautious sometimes, brother," said Thor, still keeping his brother away with his back. "If there is any danger, I suppose I will bear the brunt of it."

An annoyed growl and several decidedly adolescent lunges later, Loki finally made it to Thor's front as the blonde smirked at his brother's fuming.

"That wasn't funny," said Loki as he snatched the book away. He did, however, eye Thor as if to see if anything _had_ affected him. It didn't matter, it wasn't as if Thor had _really_ been reading it.

Thor crossed his arms. "As I said: too cautious." He smiled as Loki ignored him and leafed through the pages.

With a new book in hand, Loki's annoyance melted away, replaced by wide-eyed curiosity and a small quirk of his lips that always lingered whenever he found something exciting to explore.

Thor's smiled didn't fade as he watched him. As he had thought: even with danger so near, a book never ceased to draw- and hold -his brother's attention. _Ever the scholar, little brother._

"This is amazing," Loki murmured, eyes still transfixed on the pages.

"What is?" ventured Thor. He hoped this would actually _help_ them and that it wasn't just his brother finding something new that wouldn't interest Thor in the slightest.

"This book, it appears to hold detailed schematics for this place-"

_"Pleas-se turn...one hundred-d...eight..."_ The voice trailed off, although Loki was already turning to the page.

His eyes scanned faster than Thor could ever hope to read, but then he frowned as he moved back to the top of the page. He blinked harshly with his second look, as if he had been staring at it too long. "This is..."

_"P-Ple-e-e-e...to the-" _more static, then finally, _"repair...-tem from corr-corrido-o-"_ Once again, it cut off.

Both brothers continued to listen for a moment but the voice didn't continue. "Did you understand any of that?" asked Thor.

Loki rubbed his upper lip with a finger, a habit that meant he was thinking, calculating. It could be a good sign or a bad one. This time, though, it could only be good. "I believe so." He returned to the book as he looked over it once more. Then, his eyes twinkled as he smiled. "Thor...we're going to fix the machine."

* * *

**A/N: Oh you two. Always getting into these crazy situations. ;D**


	3. The House - Ch 3

**A/N: This is weird, I had to be reminded that today is my birthday by somebody else, hahaha. Is that a sign I'm getting old? :D**

* * *

_**The House**_

****\- Chapter 3 -****

His elder brother continued to frown for a few more moments, his eyes distant but staring right at Loki.

"Don't hurt yourself," Loki smirked.

Thor righted himself and huffed. "That one is getting old."

"Old doesn't mean wrong." His tight smile widened.

A moment passed before Thor answered with, "Shut up."

"So clever, brother. I do wonder why they call _me_ Silvertongue-"

A rumble in the floor caused Loki to nearly jump on Thor as Thor himself hefted Mjolnir and clenched his jaw, ready for any enemy. Loki's fingers held tightly to Thor's right wrist as they watched a small, flat circular surface appear next to them, wide enough to stand on and metallic. A ring of pale blue light bordered it, shining upward like a waist-high curtain.

After looking down to his wrist, still held in an iron grip by Loki, Thor met the other's wide green eyes. Noticing his brother staring, Loki immediately let go, then purposely straightened his back as he stared at the metal surface. He cleared his throat. "I don't think I did that," he nodded in the direction of the circle.

"Hm." Thor walked toward it.

"Thor-!" Loki protested as his hand shot out to stop the blonde, Thor stopping just shy of stepping on it.

"We can't spend all day staring at things, brother," said Thor, as if it was so obvious.

Loki growled lightly under his breath. "_Staring_. What else was I supposed to do when it appeared out of nowhere? Do you expect me to just jump on-"

Without warning, Thor walked onto the round platform as Loki all but yelped at the elder- who promptly disappeared.

Frozen in place, Loki couldn't breathe. _What...where did he..._ He felt panic rising as he looked around, knowing it was foolish to wonder if he might have somehow missed Thor simply passing him by. He finally found his breath. "Thor!" His voice sounded pathetically small in the too-large room. He looked behind him, at the door, then wondered if the _thing_ might find him while Thor was away. He didn't sense it, that was good.

Looking forward again, he wondered what he should do, but before he could even start to speculate as to what might have happened to his brother, Thor's large frame suddenly appeared before him.

"That was..." Thor walked off the metal platform and casually looked at it, "...interesting."

Without thinking, Loki _almost_ hugged him, but then, remembering himself, he pulled back and hit Thor on the arm. "What the Hel are you doing, Thor!"

Thor's eyebrows lifted slightly. "What's the matter? I wasn't gone very long."

"That's not the issue, you dimwitted lout! You can't just-" Loki gritted his teeth and shut his eyes, because _of course_ Thor would just jump on the platform, and _no_, it wouldn't matter how much Loki told him to _wait_, he _always_ rushed ahead. His eyes opened, and, he hoped, still appeared angry. "You can't just _do things_, Thor. How did you know what could happen? You might have been..." he trailed off, frustrated. _Idiot._ Patience was not a word Thor could comprehend.

The idiot smiled. "Did you worry for me? You know I wouldn't leave you."

"Not _intentionally_-" Loki stopped himself. It was amazing how easily Thor could twist words to his benefit; Loki might have been proud except Thor wasn't doing it _on purpose_. Guileless as ever, the oaf always _stumbled_ into his charm. Or so Loki vehemently told himself.

Looking again at the circular device, Thor said, "There was something on the other side. A transportation device?"

Collecting himself quickly, Loki snorted, "Obviously." Yet still... He eyed Thor. "Is it...safe?" He wouldn't have been so obviously cautious- and vocal about it -if it was anyone but Thor.

Thor shrugged with one shoulder. "There was air, at least."

Loki rolled his eyes. "How comforting."

Then, he felt a presence somewhere behind, and so _suddenly_ that he gasped. He didn't dare turn.

"Loki?" Thor said, worried.

Loki's breath came in short, controlled intakes as he stared at nothing with wide eyes. "It's..." he whispered, barely above a breath. "It's in here with us."

So quickly that Loki barely registered what was happening, Thor grabbed him and bodily moved them both onto the metal surface as everything went dark.

.

Gasping for air, Loki clung to Thor without thought. Blinking his disorientation away, he found the wall of books that had been there moments ago replaced with a wall of gray marble. _Is this entire place made of marble?_ he absently wondered.

"...Brother?" Thor's voice broke in, one of his calloused hands on the side of Loki's face, holding him steady, determined but caring.

Loki blinked quickly. "What?"

"You were too pale, and too suddenly," he responded with concern, his hand falling slowly.

Loki tried for a smirk that never came. "I'm always pale." He stepped off the metal circle and watched the way the curtain of light momentarily parted as he passed.

"Pale-er, then. You truly need to get more sun, brother." The thunderer moved off of it as well.

"Whatever I might do, I'll never be as sun-kissed as you," he managed a smile, suddenly afraid to let go of their light banter. He didn't want to consider that something might follow them here. A moment later he realized the comment didn't have as much bite as it should. It sounded like a compliment. Thor only shrugged. "Where are we?" asked Loki. He knew Thor wouldn't know but he felt the need to ask anyway.

"I suppose we are still in the library?" Thor asked, looking about.

_Obvious,_ Loki thought.

Before them was a long corridor that stretched in both directions. Along both walls, and reaching to the low ceiling- at least compared to the library's -were books that seemed to go on forever.

"How large is this library?" Thor asked next.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling this book could prove useful down here...somehow." Looking down, Loki suddenly remembered he was still holding the large tome. He still couldn't understand why he could see the bright runes on its surface, and even within, when Thor could not. Was it because of his magic?

Suddenly, the voice of the machine resounded around them, loud in the smaller space, but Loki couldn't make it out.

"What is she saying?" asked Thor.

Loki shook his head and looked at page one-hundred and eight. Although he didn't understand most of what he was seeing, he at least understood that they needed to be in a certain-

He looked around at the walls. There were marks here and there, strange symbols followed by numbers. Blinking, he realized the All-tongue wasn't _translating_, rather, it was actually in his own language.

"What?" Thor turned to the markings and frowned. "Is that...important?"

Loki continued to stare at it. "I would say so. This books says we need to be...here, actually. Right here where we are."

Thor seemed taken aback. "Then is this where we can fix the machine?" He looked about. "I don't see how. There's nothing here but books." He said the words as if he thought books were useless. Never mind that a book had _brought _them here. Or had it? Loki had no idea if this was the only place that the metal circle could transport them to. Did finding the book somehow activate the device?

Again, the voice of the machine attempted to speak, and again, neither brother could understand.

"That is becoming tiresome," grumbled Thor.

"Hm," Loki looked at the book. He turned the page. "It says..." He squinted at it, trying not to hurt his eyes. "It says I should speak these words." _Simple_, he mused. He blinked and realized if he stared at it too long he would probably get a headache. While the words on the wall were easily legible, these particular words could barely be translated into anything even recognizable. He had never seen the All-tongue struggle to translate any language, but this one made him want to look away at the mere sight of it.

"Then what does it say?" asked Thor.

Loki was all-too glad to look at his brother instead. "I don't know."

"You don't know? But how-"

"I don't _understand_ the words- if you'll let me finish -but I _can _read them. They appear nonsensical to me."

Looking down at the words, he read the indicated phrase as best he could, although speaking it made his throat hurt. He didn't think Asgardians were meant to speak this language. He saw Thor wincing in disgust.

"What is that look?" asked Loki, amused. Then he coughed because he sounded like he had lost his voice. _What in Helheim..?_

Thor's brow furrowed. "Loki, your voice."

Nodding, the younger prince grimaced and wondered how such a thing could happen. Did he just...cast a spell?

"That did not sound pleasant-" Thor began, but he was cut off when a loud, but short, slicing sound, like a sword through air, was followed by a smooth, metal door suddenly appearing next to them, the books that had been there disappearing. Next, the door slid open, its silvery surface sliding upward to hide in the ceiling.

Both princes stared.

"That was...unexpected," said Loki. "Although I'm not certain what _else _I could have expected." He didn't like how his voice sounded. How could he have lost it so quickly?

And before Thor could, once _again_, walk into the unknown without thinking, Loki's arm shot out to stop him.

"Oh no you don't, brother," said the younger. "You have to stop, and_ think_, first. No more rushing in blind."

Tentatively, as if afraid he might hurt him- _oh, mocking, how nice_ -Thor removed his arm from his chest. "And just _what else_ would you like to do, hm, brother? It is a _door_. What else can we do but walk through?"

Loki narrowed his eyes, thinking. _Damn._ Because Thor was _right._ This door had appeared because Loki had brought it forth, what else was there to do but be rash and just go through the damned thing? Not much.

With a loud groan and an exaggerated tilt of his head- and an idiotic smile from his older brother -Loki nodded and followed the other through the open doorway.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

It wasn't as if Thor was _intentionally_ trying to get on his little brother's nerves, it was just that Loki was _too cautious_, and Thor had little patience for waiting around and seeing whatever experiments the other might conjure to find out what they _should _do, if anything. Action was simple, _thinking_ was...not. He knew what Loki would say to that, so Thor said nothing. He didn't want to stand around more while they talked. Loki was ever so fond of _talking_. It was any wonder he got anything done back home- but then, there weren't many who were willing to work with the mischief god...

Shaking his thoughts away, Thor looked around. He wasn't certain _what_ he had been expecting, but this...wasn't even close.

"We're in your chambers," Thor stated; even he knew he sounded dumb.

"I can see that," returned the trickster's hoarse voice.

Whatever this place was, it looked _exactly_ like Loki's chambers in the palace on Asgard. It glowed with the same familiar warmth Thor had known all his life, knew just as well as his own rooms.

"What _is _this..?" mumbled Loki, still surprised, although a moment later he looked around with a purpose. "An illusion," he stated. "Has to be..." He touched his desk- or...whatever it was. It appeared solid. "A very good illusion." He walked to the bed as his slim fingers slid across its surface. "A very, _very_ good illusion," he continued to mumble.

The broken voice of the machine started again, although like before it wasn't clear what was said.

Rushing to the desk, Loki quickly placed the book on it and scrambled to read the same page he had been. Uncertain what to do with himself, Thor reached to touch the wall-

"Do _not_ touch anything," said Loki with a sharp tone, not looking up from his study.

"I wasn't," said Thor, trying not to sound defensive. What did it matter, anyway? Loki had been touching things.

After several minutes past, the younger prince stood up straight and cracked his neck.

"What's wrong?" asked Thor.

"Oh, it's nothing," said Loki as he rubbed at his neck, then his eyes, with both hands. "I just feel like my head might implode if I keep this up." His tired eyes looked to Thor. The elder approached as Loki indicated the page. "I've never seen this form of sorcery before. I can barely even _read_ it much less speak it."

The moment Thor glanced at it, even to read one word, he had to look away. "By the Norns," he hissed, as if his eyes had been assaulted. "How do you look at that?"

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose. "Years of practice," he stated wearily. Unfortunately, not yet centuries, or even decades. "Although I admit this is beyond me. I've only just begun studying verbal spells." When Thor gave him a confused look, he added, "Spells don't have to be cast verbally, even though almost all of the most powerful ones have _some_ verbal component that's required before..." His eyes focused on the page again. "This one is- fortunately, I suppose -short, but I'm having difficulty rendering it into All-tongue." He sighed. "I'll try it anyway."

Taking a deep breath, Loki bent over the tome and placed both hands beside it as if to brace himself. Thor's first instinct was to move away- magic sometimes unnerved him -but a stronger instinct kept him near his brother.

A shudder and a slight cough was followed by the most horrible sounding language Thor had ever heard. Like the spell in the corridor, the sound- even coming from his little brother -made him want to cover his ears. But as Loki had said, the spell ended quickly, just as the younger prince nearly crumbled to the floor.

"Loki!" Thor, fortunately, managed to catch him around the waist, although Loki was already slumped over the large desk.

Loki coughed and, with a ruined voice, said, "Well, that was fun." His small and tired smile made Thor smile in return.

"That _was _short," responded Thor. "But...very unpleasant to hear. Are you alright, brother?"

Loud, crackling noises filled the air suddenly, followed by a high-pitched whine that made both brothers cringe. It lasted only seconds, however, and was followed by the smooth voice of the machine.

_"Thank you. I have been waiting for you to repair me since you first arrived."_

Thor's raised brows matched Loki's.

.

_"I apologize for the difficulty of the spell you had to cast, Loki, though I wasn't aware of the toll it would take given my state at the time."_

Thor held tightly to his younger brother from behind as he asked, "Who are you? _What_ are you? What is happening-"

_"Do not worry, I will answer all your questions, but for the moment you should look after your brother."_

Looking down, Thor noticed that Loki was slowly losing consciousness. "Loki!" He looked to the ceiling, although he wasn't certain _where_ he should be looking to speak to the machine. "What have you done to him?!"

_"I have done nothing to him. The process necessary to repair my systems is not designed for your people."_

"What does that mean?" Thor asked, annoyed. He scooped Loki up and moved him to the large bed in a hurry.

_"What you call sorcery is what many call science. They are similar, but there is a difference; I am afraid your brother just ran into that difference. Verbally casting spells is not the correct way to interact with the technology in the House. The Book re-wrote itself to accommodate your brother's inherent magical talents- essentially, creating spells where they were never meant to exist."_

Thor ran a hand through Loki's hair, worried at how still and pale his brother had become. "I don't understand anything you're saying, machine. How do I help him?" He felt tears itching behind his eyes, wanting to fall, but Thor didn't have time for that so he ignored it.

_"Apologies. There is a vial on the table across the room. Can you see it?"_

Thor would know the location of the table in the dark. He nodded. He kissed Loki on the forehead before hurrying toward it. "What do I do with it?"

_"Give it to your brother."_

He held it in his hand. It was small, barely the size of his palm, and a deep green color. The liquid inside shimmered when he tilted it. "But how?" asked Thor. "He is unconscious."

_"You will have to wake him. The contents must be taken voluntarily."_

For a moment, as he approached his supine brother, Thor considered if he should even listen to the voice. She- for it certainly sounded like a woman -could be trying to harm them, for all he knew. And yet, from what Loki had said, the voice had tried to protect him, or at least guide him away from the entity that had been chasing him. Surely that meant something?

The voice said nothing further as Thor sat on the bed and pulled Loki halfway into his lap so he would be sitting up. "Loki," he tried, his voice shaking. "Brother, please wake up. You have to...take this." His words sounded feeble, like the words of a frightened child. _No. I have no time for this._ Loki could be _dying_ for all he knew. He had only been studying magic for a few years, he was still so new to the craft. How could Thor have allowed him to read that spell when he knew it hurt Loki to even _look_ at it? What a fool Thor was; what a fool _both_ of them were. Thor allowed Loki's intellect to make him forget how fragile his little brother could be- and how potentially dangerous magic was. Their mother was always warning Loki, even Thor, sometimes, of the danger.

"Brother, wake up!" Thor shouted, putting as much force behind the words as he dared.

Loki's eyes burst open, red-shot and wide. His pupils were larger than they should be.

Thor held the vial against the smaller god's lips. "Brother...brother, drink this. It will make you feel better." _It will...it will. _It better. Or Thor would burn this _House_ to the ground.

Green, tired eyes met his, worried but filled with a trust of which Thor suddenly felt unworthy. Loki knew there was no way Thor could know what this phial contained, and yet he trusted the elder to look out for him. He opened his mouth as Thor, slowly, poured it in and watched the younger swallow as he winced- his throat probably aching with the effort. He coughed and sputtered but drank it all, then laid back down and promptly went to sleep.

"Loki..?"

_"He will recover,"_ said the voice.

"How can you know that?!" bellowed Thor to the ceiling. "How can you know?!" he repeated, angry.

_"His vital signs are already returning to normal. He only needs rest now; there is no need to worry."_

_No need to worry... _Thor wanted to throw something, _break_ something, because how could this _machine_ tell him not to worry? Was it, perchance, not a machine at all, but a woman sitting somewhere while she watched them? He didn't know and couldn't care right now. Loki wasn't _her_ brother, so she had no right to tell him _not to worry._

He gritted his teeth and hugged his little brother close, reveling in the feel of the heartbeat, small but steady against his own.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you guys are having fun with this. Aw, Thor with his angry huggling; ain't he cute? ;D See you next week!**


	4. The House - Ch 4

**A/N: A bit shorter than usual, but I think this chapter explains some stuff.**

* * *

**_The House_  
**

**\- Chapter 4 -**

The feeling of being crushed was the first sensation to greet Loki upon waking, but only a moment later he realized it was less crushing than he first thought. It was almost comfortable, and warm.

His eyes were heavy as they lifted, the darkness giving way to a bright yellow that tickled his face...

Frowning and opening his eyes wider, he recognized the yellow to be hair- and he only needed one guess as to whom it belonged.

Unable to move with any expediency, he attempted to blow the strands of hair away from his face. He sighed in annoyance, then tried again, feeling somewhat foolish. He gave it several more tries before most of his idiot brother's hair was away from his face. It was now obvious the crushing sensation was simply Thor holding him a little too tightly. Nothing new there. The thunderer was incapable of embracing _anyone_ in a civilized manner, it was like being hugged by a bear while you wondered if it was trying to love you or kill you.

Wiggling and huffing, he soon realized it was useless. "Thor," Loki said, annoyed. "_Thor,_" he tried again. Nothing. And _snoring_.

_"Your brother has been asleep for only thirty minutes."_

The voice made Loki jump, although he didn't have far to go. "Y-You again?" His voice was still scratchy; he must not have been sleeping very long.

He tried again to move, or at least extricate his arms away from his body, but with no success. He sighed and relaxed, knowing he would have to awaken Thor before he would be free. It had been some time since Thor had held him this way, but getting older had caused no shifts in their differences in raw strength.

"Irritating oaf..." Loki muttered. Why did Thor have to hold him so tightly? It wasn't as if he were going anywhere. And what if danger came to them? Well that would certainly wake the thunder god, with Loki's help or without. It had always amazed Loki, how Thor had an instinct about danger approaching, even in repose. It never ceased to make Loki feel safer when they were out in the wilds or on a quest in some distant land. He had once even tested it, waking up in the middle of the night to sneak about the camp as if he were a predator on the prowl. It was stupid, in hindsight, but Thor hadn't even stirred, as if he instinctively understood there was no danger. Of course, _approaching _Thor with a dagger in hand had been a mistake, but not for any obvious reason; Thor had grabbed him, even in sleep, then held him tightly in an embrace that was...sadly, exactly like how he held him now. Needless to say, Loki hadn't tried _that_ foolish experiment again.

_"How are you feeling?"_ asked the voice.

Pulled from his thoughts, Loki looked up and sighed. "Well enough, I suppose. Although my throat still hurts," he looked down, "as well as my leg." His arm was a little better, at least. He blinked at the familiar ceiling, feeling strange that this felt so much like home, but wasn't. "What happened?"

_"You fell unconscious after you repaired me. I thank you for that."_

"I...seem to remember drinking something. Was that Thor?"

_"Yes. I instructed him to give you a potion. It is not what it appears, however, you didn't truly consume anything."_

He frowned. "I'm sorry?"

_"As you have guessed, everything around you is an illusion, a representation of the truth that your mind can comprehend. The Book chose your living space in order to help you with your task, and the liquid you consumed was simply a way to get something into your body."_

"Something..." Loki said with some skepticism.

_"You need not worry, neither I nor this House would ever harm you."_

"And why not, what are we to you? And why do you speak as though this House is alive," he looked at the book still on the desk, "and that book?"

_"They are extensions of what I am."_

"And that is?"

There was a short pause. _"An artificial intelligence."_

That barely answered anything, Loki had already assumed as much. _Artificial..._ A question jumped out at him. "Then, do you not have a name? I'm certain we will tire very quickly of calling you 'machine.'"

Again, there was a pause. _"You may call me Lares."_

"Lares?"

_"Yes, Loki."_

No further explanation followed. His mind filled with questions but he knew he wouldn't have time to ask all of them. He sifted through his thoughts to pull out the most relevant ones. "What is that...thing following us?"

_"I do not know."_

"You...don't know? Why did you tell me to go to the fifth floor, where I met it?"

_"Apologies. My programming defaulted when the Door there was breached, I am uncertain why. I surmise that the intruder caused a massive surge throughout the House that caused my systems to malfunction and revert to their base programming."_ Loki tried his best to follow what she was saying, with minimal success. _"While I am programmed to protect the wearer of the Tag, I am also programmed to protect the House. Since your Keeper was unconscious, I directed the only available-"_

"Wait, wait," interrupted Loki. "I don't understand your terminology. Tag? Keeper?"

He could almost imagine the machine sighing. _"You are the Reader, the wearer of the Tag. Your brother is your Keeper."_

"And...what do these titles mean?" he asked, suddenly wary. Why would this House, this machine- whatever it was -give them titles?

_"The Reader collects knowledge, the Keeper protects the Reader."_

That was...overly simplistic. Loki decided to ask more later, he wanted to get back to the subject of the "intruder". Still, he had one more question. "And what is the Tag?" He was sure he already knew the answer.

_"The metal around your wrist."_

He sighed. "Of course," he mumbled. "And I suppose you won't tell me how to remove it?"

_"The Tag cannot be removed."_

"And why not?"

_"I cannot answer that."_

"Why is that?"

_"I cannot answer that."_

"Can you at least tell me what it's made of?"

_"I cannot answer that."_

With a hiss of frustration, he asked, "What _can_ you tell me, then? Like what in the Nine Realms was that thing chasing me?! Or what we should do about it?"

_"You should run."_ His breath hitched, those words sending a shiver down his spine. _"If you ever encounter the intruder: run."_

"How then are we to stop it? Or perhaps you can tell me how we might return home ourselves?"

_"I have a theory that could return the intruder to its origin. To your second question, I have no answers to help you."_

"Why not?"

_"I cannot answer that."_

Loki gritted his teeth, frustrated. He looked to his brother, annoyed suddenly, and too warm in the tight embrace. "Dammit, Thor, wake up!"

With a startled, caught breath, Thor woke up, eyes blinking and looking about. "...What?" He looked to Loki, squinting. "Brother? What are you doing?"

"What are _you_ doing is the question. Let me go, you brute."

Blinking the last of his grogginess away, Thor let go and laid back against the bed, stretching. Loki, too, stretched, although less dramatically. He scooted a little away and sat up as he shook himself.

"Why must you always do that?" Loki asked quietly.

"Hm?" Clearly Thor wasn't completely awake. "Do what?" he asked as he yawned. He didn't wait for Loki's answer as he asked, "How long was I asleep? It doesn't feel like very long..."

_"You slept for forty-seven minutes,"_ answered the machine.

Surprised, Thor looked up. "Oh. You again?"

Loki smirked. "That's what I said."

_"Apologies,"_ said the voice. _"You must run again."_

Loki's body went rigid. _No, not here, not _yet_._ He was comfortable here. He was still tired, his leg hurt, he _didn't want to run_ anymore.

"What do you mean?" asked Thor. "Run where?"

"It's found us..." Loki whispered. He rushed to the edge of the bed but promptly fell off the side and to the floor when his legs didn't catch him.

"Loki!" Thor hurried to his side and helped him to stand, although Loki's legs shook with the effort. "You still aren't fully recovered," he observed.

"_Clearly_," Loki returned, annoyed.

_"Please run."_

A door appeared where Loki's balcony had been, another corridor- not the one from before -stretching out of view.

"But-" started Thor, but Loki cut him off.

"Now! Let's go now!"

With Thor holding Loki around the waist, the two princes rushed out of the room just as the illusion of the stately chambers began to shimmer and ripple like angry water. Neither waited to watch as they hurried down the blank, doorless corridor.

At the end was another silvery disk on the floor, the blue light beckoning them to step onto it.

"Should we-?" asked Thor, but couldn't finish as Loki all but fell onto the platform as they were both rushed away.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The machine-voice directed them the entire way, and was apparently leading them away from the intruder as best it could. Loki told Thor of what the machine had told him, about the titles the voice had given them and of what he understood- however little -of the so-called _House_.

"What is this House?" Loki abruptly asked the machine as they trudged along the second floor.

_"It is not truly a House, nor even a place, but a representation of a construct that your mind cannot comprehend in its true form."_

Thor frowned. "I...am certain I understood none of that." Loki lightly snorted.

_"Your bodies are real, but what you stand on, the things you touch, even the air in your lungs, is not truly what you perceive it to be."_

"Then," asked Loki, "what is it? I can accept that this is some sort of elaborate illusion, but where are we? If it is not a _place_, then what could it be? Are we simply experiencing this place inside our minds or..." he trailed off at the confused look Thor was giving him. "What?"

"Nothing, brother," Thor half-smiled.

They continued up a flight of stairs as the voice continued. _"I cannot describe what this place is because your minds cannot comprehend it."_

"Then _where_ are we," tried Loki, "can you answer that? Are we at least still somewhere in the Nine Realms?"

_"No." _The direct answer made Thor's jaw clench. Loki looked even more concerned, his wide eyes turning worried. _"The universe as you understand it is far from here- metaphysically speaking. There is no 'far' or 'near' in this place."_

Thor shook his head. He really didn't like to do so much thinking in one day; it made his head hurt.

"What is this place?" Loki asked in nearly a whisper, looking about as if he could see it.

_"I have no words sufficient enough to explain. This place is not a part of any universe."_

"Then there are other universes?" asked Thor.

Loki gave him a look; he knew that look, it said: _'Of course you don't know the answer because you weren't paying attention when we were having our lessons.'_ Thor shrugged, smiling.

_"Many, yes."_

"Is that where the...intruder came from?" Thor asked next. This time, Loki's eyebrows lifted in an opposite reaction, as if impressed.

_"Yes. Although I am uncertain what it is. I have not encountered such an entity before."_

They had moved up two more floors and the machine told them to stop.

_"You are on the fifth floor. Please proceed to the open Door."_

"What?" Loki hissed. "That's where I encountered the _intruder_ the first time- why are you sending us there? Do you expect us to close the Door?"

_"Doors can neither be closed nor opened by conventional means. It should not have opened in the first place."_

Loki swallowed visibly. "W-What do you mean? What are we to do when we get there, then?"

A short pause was enough for Loki to go pale, as if he already knew the answer. _"You must walk through the Door."_

* * *

**A/N: There's just two more chapters after this one. Lol, the title the machine gave Thor might be funny if you've read my recent one-shot. Even funnier since I wrote them months apart.**


	5. The House - Ch 5

**A/N: Get ready for some weirdness. **

* * *

_**The House**_

_**\- **_**Chapter 5**_** -**_

"No," Loki stated, firmly. "_No_, I will not. Thor..."

The Door was ahead, silent, _waiting._ Loki knew he was being cowardly, childish even, but he didn't _care_. Thor couldn't feel the entity, Loki could. The mere thought of it made his stomach turn in knots and his breath stop short.

At the sight of the Door, slightly open and barely a dozen paces away, a strange question occurred to Loki. With a quiet voice, he asked, "How many Doors are there in this place?"

_"I do not have that answer."_ How could she not? But it didn't matter; he didn't want to go through _any_ of them.

Trying to breathe as steadily as he could, Loki looked to Thor. The elder pursed his lips. "It is up to you, little brother. I'm certain I understand far less about this than you." His smile was warm and Loki let it wash over him. "Either way, you know I will be there."

Loki's eyes darted between Thor's, not yet ready to decide what to do. Why did _he_ have to make this decision? It wasn't as if he understood that much more than Thor- whatever the elder thought.

He hesitated to speak, his words slow to form. "W-What are we...what are we to do once we get there?" He eyed the Door, unashamed to show his fear as he held tightly Thor's arm.

_"I do not know. If the environment is not stable for your kind, the Tag would not allow you through."_

Thor shifted on his feet. "That is good...right, brother?"

Inhaling deeply and letting his breath out slowly, Loki nodded, albeit with hesitation. He bit his lip as they approached the Door. He could see nothing but white through the open crack, the same blankness that he had seen out the library's windows.

"Are you ready?" murmured Thor into his ear, words soft but strong. His hand gripping Loki's upper arm was almost enough to calm his frayed nerves... Almost.

.

A cacophony and rush of sound pushed in, obscuring all senses. Loki felt his body _stretch_, then, almost as quickly, snap back together as a wave of nausea hit him. His senses returned just as he crashed to the ground, his injured ankle taking the brunt of the fall. He choked on a scream, determined not to vomit- although he next thought to do so might make him feel better.

"...Brother?"

Thor's voice and Thor's hands, falling over him and holding him half sitting up as they both remained on their knees. The arms over his chest and back held him fast, although he wondered if he imagined their slight shaking.

"Thor..." Loki gasped, swallowing the bile threatening to rise if he moved too much.

"It's alright, we made it," said Thor. Loki felt a little better when he noted how Thor's voice was as shaken as his own, even if, a moment later, it also made him nervous. But it didn't matter. Thor was only disoriented. Nothing, _anywhere_ could unnerve Thor, that was a simple fact of life and Loki was loath to admit the mere thought had helped him through more than he was willing to count.

Finally regaining his bearings, Loki dared to look up.

A long stretch of a straight, wide road sat bordered by a long line of houses on both sides. The houses were plain, white and square, all two floors high, flat on top with one door but no windows. Perfectly trimmed grass covered all but the road and homes. The sun was bright, but even without a cloud in the sky, it seemed shadowed, cold.

"This was...not what I was expecting," said Loki, blinking.

"Nor I," said Thor. Suddenly, Thor began looking around frantically, as if he had lost something. "Mjolnir!" he shouted as he continued searching both his person and the ground around.

"What?" asked Loki. "You've lost your hammer? I thought you had it on you-"

"_Of course_ I had it on me; do you think I would leave it there when we could be going into danger?"

Loki looked around as well, but asked next, "Why not just call it to you-"

"I've been trying. It won't come. It's as if..." he stopped.

"As if...?"

"As if it isn't even here."

"Here. You mean, on this world?"

Thor looked to him. "This _universe_. Isn't that what you and the machine have been babbling about all this time?" He growled in frustration and shook his head. "I only hope it is still in that House. How did the machine say we are to return?"

Loki shrugged. "Something about 'the Tag will know'? It seems this thing," he looked at the silver device around his wrist, "will return us when it is time." He paused. "Whenever that is."

The thunder god- sans hammer, now -nodded. "Very well, then. What should we do here? She did not say."

Sighing, Loki limped forward. "I suppose we are meant to know it when we see it." He then added, under his breath, "Or at least I hope so."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Despite the coldness of the sun, Thor found himself hot in his armor. He was suddenly struck by the realization that there was no wind here, not even a little. The road stretched onward, as if going forever into the pale horizon. The buildings followed in a monotony that made Thor's eyes hurt. Behind the row of buildings were more buildings, and beyond them another identical road.

"What is this world?" asked Loki as Thor helped him along. "It's so..." he searched for the word.

"Boring," Thor finished.

"I was going to say quiet. Or blank. But that works, too," his smiled a little.

"Why aren't you healing, brother?" asked Thor, looking down at their feet. He was already worried for Loki, but the slow progress of his mending worried him further.

"My magic seems to have been depleted."

Thor stopped. "What?" he asked, surprised.

"My magic," Loki repeated. "I've been trying to conjure it, even something small, but it seems greatly diminished. It started in the House but it's worse now, after we arrived here." Thor stared at him. "I feel it returning, but...it might take some time," he finished.

After a pause, Thor asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It doesn't matter, Thor."

Although he didn't look worried, Thor knew better. Loki was a good fighter but he didn't excel at it, not by any standard in Asgard; magic was something he _was_ good at and Thor knew it would worry him to suddenly be without.

"Worry not," said Thor in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. "I will protect you-"

"Oh, come off it, Thor. No need to state the obvious like one of those idiotic love-struck fools in those grandiose tales mother used to read to us as children." Thor stopped and blinked. Tilting his head, Loki clarified, "I only mean..." He sighed and lowered his head. "I _know_ you will protect me. There's no need to rub it in."

"Rub _what_ in, brother? You are injured and I am not, it's as simple as that. Would you not protect me if I were injured and you were whole and hale?"

Loki's eyes shot to his, blinking in surprise. "Well...of course, but-"

"Good." Thor smiled and pulled the dumbstruck trickster along. "That is what brothers _should_ do."

Regaining his composure, Loki shook his head and exhaled. "Your guileless charm is possibly the only thing that would keep me from leaving you, were you injured, you big lout." By his tone Thor knew the only proper response was to laugh and squeeze a little tighter. "Thor!" Loki protested, but his lips quirked in an almost-smile that Thor wished would stay.

If it wasn't for the lines of houses in every direction, Thor would have called this world desolate, almost like a desert or the solemn white of a snowy plain. He ached to hear more than their shuffling feet across the paved ground. There were no birds, no insects, no _life_, in any direction. But surely someone would have had to create these homes? Who trimmed the grass? Who paved the roads?

Loki's sharp intake of breath made him stop. Looking in the same direction, Thor squinted in the sun, wondering if he was imagining it.

"Thor?" The younger prince's wide and worried eyes met his for a moment.

A man stood before a house to their left, as still as a statue and staring in their direction.

Both brothers stared back, barely breathing. It took several moments before they realized the man was not moving, _at all_. He wasn't just frozen, as in fear or curiosity, he was _frozen_, as if he were a true statue and not a living being. Perhaps...he wasn't?

Cautiously, Thor started toward the man.

"What are you doing?!" Loki whispered urgently as he tried to remain in place, although Thor didn't heed him as he pulled him along.

Squinting against the bright sun, Thor spoke, "I beg your pardon, sir. Are you...alive?"

Snorting in amusement, Loki said, "Would you expect him to answer were he not?"

Thor shrugged. The man did, however, look alive- either that or he was the most realistic statue he had ever seen.

Now only a dozen steps away, the man appeared, more or less, as they were. His skin was a shade too red, as if he had been in the sun too long. His ears lacked the details theirs did and his mouth was perhaps a little too wide. But his eyes, his nose... they were...blurred, almost flat, as if the man were made of clay and someone had mashed them into something less recognizable. Thor tried to blink, as if that would clear up the features on the man's face.

The blank eyes stared straight ahead, although on closer inspection, not at the princes. His left arm was slightly raised, and his right leg tilted back. Perhaps he had been about to walk?

Curiosity apparently overcoming Loki's apprehension, he limped forward and leaned toward the man, although ready to jump back if need be. "I...I'm not certain if he's breathing," said Loki in low tones, as though the man might hear.

"Should we..." said Thor, "...touch him?"

Loki gave him a look. "Oh _now_ you're cautious." He looked back at the statue-man. "I don't know. He's the only sign of life on this world thus far..." He trailed off and straightened his back as his eyes darted behind the man. "There's another one," he whispered.

Walking around the man, Thor too saw another one- a woman, between two of the buildings. Looking around now, a few more could be spotted some ways away, in every direction. How had they missed them?

"This is...very strange," said Loki. _Needless to say_, went unsaid.

The entire landscape was dotted with statue-people, in various poses, as if they had been going about their day and were suddenly stricken on the spot with some sort of paralysis. Every one of them had their eyes open, nearly too wide as they stared- Thor now noticed -in the same direction.

Loki seemed to notice as well as he turned fully around, trying to follow their gazes. "This way," he murmured.

For some reason, Thor felt a shiver run down his spine.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

They walked some ways, no longer following the road, but instead moving between the buildings and following where the people were looking. More of the inhabitants appeared as the two walked- although less than one would expect with so many homes -until Loki felt something hit him.

He jerked back, more startled than anything. He looked to Thor with wide eyes. "Did you feel that?"

Thor nodded, wide-eyed as well. "It came from that way." He indicated the direction they were already walking.

All of a sudden, Loki didn't want to walk that way. He didn't know why, but an overwhelming feeling of despair washed over him, went _through _him, then leaked out of his feet as if it were a tangible force. He choked on a sob and felt foolish for it when Thor turned to him, confused.

"Brother..?" Thor asked. "Would you like to stop?"

_Nod,_ Loki told himself. _Nod!_ But he didn't. He shook his head and swallowed. This wasn't right, any of it. They should leave this place. But where could they go?

Thor pulled him along now, more and more as Loki felt the urge to stay away increase. The sun was blindingly bright but cold like midnight. There suddenly wasn't enough air here, too thin like the atmosphere had been stolen away.

...But there's nothing here!

In every direction. Same, same, same.

White squares and dull grass. Roads and roads and white squares and dull grass and sun and roads and roads and sun _and no sound not enough no sound not enough-_

Loki gasped for air as he fell to the ground, boneless. Thor somehow didn't catch him in time, but Loki felt his arms surrounding a moment later.

"Brother, what's wrong?" asked Thor, his voice suddenly so far away.

Then, there was a sound, like rushing water- no, like people talking, _thousands _of them, whispering endlessly without taking a breath between their hurried words. He lifted his eyes, tears filling them as he strained to see what lay ahead.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Suddenly a scream ripped from his brother, and Thor didn't know what to do. He tried to hold him, tried to soothe, to ask, to _see_ what was wrong, but Loki didn't heed him and he had no visible injuries- none new, anyway. But this place wasn't home, or even the House, who knew what it could do to them if they stayed too long? And Loki was different from Thor, his magic could be reacting to some unseen force.

Loki started convulsing, then scrambling as if trying to get away, his fingers clawed as he scratched along the hot road, flailing about.

"Loki, stop!" Thor tried, but it was useless. Loki screeched and tried to get away again. Not knowing what to do Thor tried his best to hold him, although barely a minute later he began to settle somewhat, tears falling from his wide eyes.

Holding him closer, Thor heard whispered words tumbling from his lips.

"_No, no, no, no..._" he repeated. Over and over. Then, still under his breath, he said, "I can't- no, _I don't want to!_"

Thor watched helplessly, shaking his head. "What's wrong! Please, brother-"

Ripping himself from Thor's arms, Loki shot to his feet. Caught off-guard, Thor didn't have time to catch the other as he sprinted straight ahead with an urgency that left Thor frozen.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

His eyes didn't know what they were seeing. Before him, converging on a single point that he hadn't seen before, was something he couldn't describe if his life depended on it.

The air and light all around _pulled_ and expanded and wavered in bursts of slow motion that hurt his eyes to see. Everything around the point disappeared and reappeared, both there and not, Loki couldn't decide which because it _didn't matter_.

_No, no, I can't go there._

The voice spoke again, words that weren't words assaulting him. It was separate from the thousands that now shouted all around, different and _distinct_ because it wasn't a part of them, wasn't even _words_.

Go, it said with phantom whispers. Go. Go. Go. Go.

_I can't, please!_

The sky darkened as he felt his legs move forward, heedless of his commands.

_Stop, stop!_

This wasn't supposed to exist, he knew that. He didn't know _how_ he knew that, it was an instinct- every fiber of his being screaming at the _wrongness_.

The point before him drew closer.

Go. Go. Go...

_Brother, help me!_

It didn't matter. Loki was already running. It felt like death; crushing, squeezing, _ripping_-

He couldn't feel his breath, his body, his mind, _everything_ fell away and then suddenly...

White.

* * *

**A/N: You're probably all saying wtf was that? It's like the Twilight Zone up in here, init? ;D Hehe.  
**


	6. The House - Ch 6

**A/N: And here we are, the last chapter of this episode. **

* * *

_**The House**_

**\- Chapter 6 -**

It was like being born anew. Thor felt his body squeezing through what he was sure was the smallest straw, then...

Brightness...and _white_.

His eyes opened and he was suddenly so awake. It wasn't like waking from sleep, he just popped into consciousness while standing up.

Blinking furiously, his eyes recognized the marble wall of the House right next to his face. _What..?_ Stumbling back, he caught sight of Loki laying on the floor, on his side and curled up. Hurrying to him, Thor was startled to find his brother's eyes open, although half-lidded in weariness. Yet, it was obvious he was aware of his surroundings. He sniffled as Thor drew closer.

"Brother? Are you..." _Alright_ sounded so stupid right now.

Loki shook his head, just barely.

Thor didn't know what to do. One moment they were standing in the middle of a street, the bright-cold sun above and the _quietness_ all around, then, his brother was screaming and _running_ and Thor hadn't known what to do, he _still_ didn't know. The next thing he knew he was standing here, before the-

The Door. The Door was still open. Barely a few paces away, but...had they touched it? He was sure it hadn't been quite so wide open before...

Shaking his head, Thor tentatively, and gently, ran his fingers through Loki's hair, hoping it would soothe the other. His green eyes blinked once, slowly, as he let out a quiet, shuddering breath.

_"Welcome back," _said the machine's voice. _"Did the Tag return you or did you find another means of returning?"_

Ignoring the voice, Thor continued to watch his brother, his worry growing.

"Brother, please, can you...speak?"

Again blinking slowly, Loki's wet eyes moved to Thor's. The elder wiped his tears, but didn't dare move him. Whatever had happened, it was far worse than everything else that had come before.

_"Your return so soon was unexpected,"_ continued the voice. _"My analysis shows that you did not return via the Tag. Might I ask by what method you did return?"_

Slowly, as if he hadn't the energy to do so, Loki sat up on one elbow, then slowly wrapped his arms around Thor. Worry growing, Thor held him in return, but didn't like this odd behavior in his brother. _What has happened?_

Then, in a low murmur, Loki spoke. "That place is not what it should be."

Rubbing his back and waiting a moment, Thor asked carefully, "What do you mean?"

"The essence is gone. It's...I don't know how to describe it. What we saw isn't _right_. We shouldn't have been there. We walked into a world unwinding; like a coil pulled apart when it should stay together..." Thor continued to listen as he ran his hands over the other in as comforting a manner he could manage. "It will end soon." He pulled back and looked into Thor's eyes- calm but utterly _tired_. "We found the end of the coil and we can't go back."

Thor couldn't blink, he could only stare. He felt the sudden urge to erase everything Loki had said, to forget and go to sleep and just _hold_ his little brother because Thor could suddenly feel it, too, the _wrongness_ of that place. He swallowed.

_"You are correct,"_ said the voice. Thor wondered if he imagined the quietness in its words. _"I have completed my analysis. The immediate area surrounding your arrival point is collapsing. I cannot calculate further without more information, however."_ She paused. _"Apologies. You should not have been able to arrive there, although my diagnostics do not indicate any error in the Tag's programming."_

Loki looked up. "I doubt there is anything wrong with your Tag. That world hasn't ended yet because it's incomplete."

"What does that mean?" asked Thor as he helped the other stand. Loki still looked too tired to be doing anything, much less standing.

"That..._thing_ that's been chasing us, it's..." He frowned and shook his head in deep thought. "It's like the heart of that place. It..." His eyes widened. "It's _hiding here_," he nearly whispered. "Thor," he said, determination suddenly rekindled, "we have to lead it back here, we have to force it back through this Door!"

"But-"

_"That will be difficult,"_ interjected the voice. _"You did not return via the Door; how did you return?"_

"Through a tear in their universe," said Loki. "It pulled me in when I neared, I suppose. I...pulled you with me, Thor."

_"It is possible the Tag directed you to enter the tear."_

Loki blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

_"The Doors are meant to be the only methods of travel between universes, but only because there are no other _known_ ways to travel. The Tag is programmed to seek out new ways, if any."_

Thor didn't like what that could imply. "Are you saying this Tag _controlled_ my brother?"

_"Not directly, but it can...suggest."_

"Take it off him," growled Thor, and he suddenly found Mjolnir flying to his hand.

_"I do not have that power."_

"If you do not, _I will_."

_"It will not matter. The Tag is indestructible. No weapon, no magic, no technology or science can remove it."_

"Then what _can_ remove it-"

"Thor."

_"I cannot answer that."_

Loki sighed and lowered his head. Clearly, he had heard that answer before.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

His elder brother looked ready to try and remove the Tag anyway, but Loki knew it would be useless. They would try later, perhaps, but right now, they simply didn't have the time.

"Where is the entity now?" asked Loki over Thor's next protest.

_"It is moving across the third floor. I have modified the walls and floors to dampen your life-signs."_

Loki sighed. "That's good; I think it seeks out life because it _needs_ us. It, perhaps..._misses_ the life it's accustomed to nurturing."

"Nurturing?" asked Thor, eyebrow quirked. "You make it sound like a mother."

Loki canted his head. "In a sense, I suppose it is. The life within that place- that _world_, is dying. So the heart of it sought a refuge to save itself. Or perhaps I'm putting far too much motivation to something driven by instinct." He straightened. "Either way, we cannot allow it to stay. If that thing remains here..." He looked to the ceiling. "Do you know what could happen?"

_"I have insufficient information to formulate a hypothesis. However, you are correct in that it is not meant to exist in this place. As I said: this is not a universe as you understand it. If it remains here, the consequences cannot be accurately predicted."_

"Then what are we to do," sighed Thor. "How can we force it back to its universe if it does not wish to go?"

A long moment passed in silence, their collective minds searching for an answer. Even so, Loki already knew the answer. There _was_ only one answer.

He spoke before he could think to stop himself. "I have to go back."

Thor's eyes shot to his. "_What?_"

"I have to go back," he repeated.

"You _are not_-"

"There's no _time_." He placed his hands on the elder's forearms and held them, he hoped his wide eyes didn't belie his determination. He was _frightened._ More afraid than he'd ever been. He had felt himself ripping apart when he'd met the tear in that reality; he never wanted to feel that again.

But...

"It has to be me, does it not?" asked Loki of the machine.

_"The Keeper cannot travel without his Reader."_

Thor growled and stepped up to Loki, eyes intense as his hand wrapped around the nape of Loki's neck. "I don't _care_," he said through clenched jaw. He didn't let Loki go. "You _are not_ going-"

"Thor, it _has_ to be me!" Loki countered, but didn't move away. If he didn't make it, this would be his last moments with his brother...

"...You are not going _without me!_" Thor finished, breathing hard.

Loki couldn't look away as his eyes fluttered. He shook his head. "No. _No_, Thor. I'm the only one who _has_ to go, I'll not risk-"

"This is _not_ up for debate, little brother!" Thor shouted. "You _know_ I can keep you here if I wish, so you will either _go with me_ or not at all. Is that clear?!"

Staring up at the other, Loki was frozen. He knew he shouldn't be surprised, but he _was_, and a moment later he felt terrible for it. _Of course_ Thor wouldn't allow him into danger if he couldn't protect him- but what could he do to help? The answer came so quickly Loki wondered if Thor was answering his thoughts.

He can _be there..._

After standing without word for a long moment, with both brothers breathing heavily, Loki nodded twice in acquiescence.

.

The machine claimed that it could send them to the same universe without the Door, and from any point in the House, that in fact, as it had stated before, _Doors were never meant to be opened-_ not in that manner, at least_._ Of course, neither Loki nor Thor truly understood what the machine meant by that.

Now came the moment Loki was_ not_ looking forward to: they would have to allow the intruder to _catch them_.

He hadn't been certain why the intruder unnerved him so, but now, knowing that the death of an entire world walked with it, he supposed it made more sense. But how could he sense that in the first place?

They stood before the doors to the library, since according to the machine, the library's doors were reinforced- with what, Loki didn't ask. It did explain why the intruder took so long to breach it, before.

Thor hadn't let go of Loki's arm since before they had arrived here and he was certain shrugging him off wouldn't work. He also didn't want to.

"Loki, you said before..."

"Hm?"

"You said that we couldn't go back to that place, not _shouldn't_, _can't_."

Loki nodded. "That was because I felt the end of it...the..." His body tingled; the intruder was approaching. "Without this...entity...that place cannot progress as it has been. Without it, somehow..." He hissed under his breath. "I don't know, I don't quite understand it, myself."

"How do you know these things?" Thor asked.

Smirking, Loki said, "I don't know that either." He made a frustrated noise. "Now I sound like that machine."

Thor smiled and placed his arm across his shoulders. He didn't say anything as he pulled the younger into a tight embrace.

It was coming. He could feel it. There was nothing to do but wait, the machine would take care of everything. What would happen when it reached them? Loki didn't even want to consider...

His heart beat furiously in his chest as he felt Thor's match his like a loud drum. The thunderer's arms tightened even more, squeezing the breath from him, but it didn't matter, Loki had no more breath.

The intruder's approach, its dark tendrils engulfing them, was not unlike the tear they had passed through. It was heavier, though, and while the transport away from that universe moved them, this feeling was crushing, like being pushed into the ground by an invisible and impossible weight.

"Thor..!" Loki tried to gasp, but he felt a violent wrenching, his body ripped away from the other's. He tried to scream, to hold on, but he was gone.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Thor awoke to his legs running. Next to him, his brother's eyes shot open, confused and wide as he ran, as well.

The same road stretched before them, but the sky was darkened, brewing with constant motion and angry clouds. There was_ most certainly_ wind now, as it whipped around them without direction.

"Thor!" Loki screamed beside him, his voice muffled in the wind. "We have to get there! We have to find the tear! The machine said if it were possible the Tag would bring us back- it's been too long already, we have to find it! We have to get out of here before everything...before..." _Before everything ends_. Thor knew the words without them being spoken.

Thor nodded, then looked around. His sense of direction was muddled by the change in the environment, and he looked for one of the statue-people since all of their heads had been turned to where they found the tear the first time.

The two ran in the direction they thought they should, just as the ground began to shake. Subtle at first but steadily growing.

"There!" Thor yelled.

They ran to one of the frozen people, but both princes stopped short and recoiled, uncertain what they were seeing.

"What's happened to them?" shouted Thor over the wind.

The man was still frozen, as if he were about to pick something up, but his face was pointed straight upward, his mouth wide and open, as if a long drawn-out scream might escape it. Looking around, they saw _all_ of the people doing the same; their heads pulled back and screaming as if to the heavens. They heard no screams, however, and it sent a chill up Thor's spine.

"It doesn't matter!" Loki shouted, "We have to go!"

The quaking of the earth increased with every step they took as they helped each other, one stumbling, then the other, then together- repeating over and over. They wouldn't get very far like this, Thor thought, although Loki seemed to know the way.

While Thor hadn't been able to see the tear before, he certainly could now. A dark hole, like a gouged and screaming eye, appeared in mid-air near the center of a street, the environment around warping and rippling like waves across the blackened sky.

Loki yelled but Thor could barely hear him. "The machine said it should take time for the entity to try again to escape! And everything here is falling apart, I don't think it can try a second time!"

"Then let us go!"

A building to their right groaned loudly as it began to _stretch_, like a warped picture. The building next to it began to stretch upward, toward the sky as if to rip the blackened clouds.

Suddenly, everything around them changed- the ground, the sky, the people -blinking into a different image. Tall buildings, with intricate glowing designs and streets of silver bordering them, the long road blocked in the distance by a towering stark-white structure at least twice the size of Asgard's palace. The new environment flashed, then disappeared, then flickered into view again, intermittently exchanging with the previously dull surroundings. For those few moments, the princes saw people- _real_ people, with beautiful flowing gowns and terrified faces, screaming and running through the city with nowhere to go.

But there wasn't time to stop and _watch_, was there? Thor grabbed Loki, who was still transfixed by the shifting world around them, then pushed them both toward the rift- the rift that was slowly collapsing before them.

They both ran, the ground disappearing like water floating upward and out and with a final _push_ they reached the dark opening, pulled into it as everything _stopped._

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Gasping for air, like breaking from too long in water, Loki flew awake, arms scrambling for purchase, for something, _anything_ to hold on to...

He found Thor.

The other held tightly to him, too, his shaking arms all around as Loki buried his face against the broad shoulder.

They both breathed heavily, in and out, trying to catch up with their fleeing minds and trying not to _see_ what they had just seen. To forget. _No one_ was ever meant to see that. They had seen the death of a world and they would never be able to _un_see it.

Tears streaming down his face, Loki pulled back to see Thor's eyes wet as well. A long moment passed of the two princes simply staring and breathing and crying, but Loki couldn't help the gasped laugh that he tried to choke back. Thor smiled, too, utterly relieved and weary. They were _alive_ and _together _and they were thankful. Air never smelled so sweet. Still, he was sure they would sleep for days after this.

Loki didn't speak, _couldn't_ right now, and they ignored the machine's voice that occasionally spoke. They didn't care what it said, they just held each other and _breathed_. There had been too much going on, too much noise and terror and- and now, far too little.

It was so quiet. The once-open Door, closed.

Thor held the side of the younger's face, his smile determined to stay. He leaned in and kissed Loki's forehead, saying: "We will find it, little brother." They rested their heads against each other and took deep breaths, in and out. "_We will find it_..."

He didn't need to elaborate because Loki already knew what he meant, his elder brother's words flowing over them. Yes. Yes, they would find it. No matter how long it took.

The Door home...

* * *

**_The End, Episode 1_  
**

**A/N: So what did you guys think? I know it might have been sorta confusing to some of you and since it isn't meant to remain a mystery, if you have questions, feel free to ask (by "mystery", I mean concerning the entity and that world, etc. All the House and machine stuff is a part of the main storyline so you're not meant to know just yet).**

**Oh yeah, I've written a "short" (kinda like an in-universe one-shot) that I should be posting soon. No need to follow me (unless you want to!) or keep checking my profile for it, as I said before all stories in this continuity/series will be posted right here, you only need to follow this story. Hopefully, I'll begin uploading the second episode soon, although I'm not sure when.**


	7. The Great Hunt

**A/N: Here's that short I was talking about. Warning!: extreme fluff!, man-childness!, stuff that has nothing to do with anything!... Umm, anyway, have fun.**

* * *

**_The Great Hunt_**

Loki stared intently at it. He studied its every move, its every colored shift and even still wondered what it was.

He sat with crossed legs on the sun-baked ground, leaning forward.

Its head moved, quirked to the side as if it saw him. In truth, Loki wasn't sure it_ could_ see, except that it had something akin to eyes on its tiny head.

The sun shined all around, surrounded him in an easy warmth. There was no wind and yet he wasn't hot, like a cool spring day in a green valley beckoning all to jump in a crystal pool at its base. But there wasn't water here, not yet.

The creature- if it could be called a creature -stirred, its long and thick tail-like appendage flicking momentarily as its head tilted the other way. It was almost a cross between a squirrel and a rabbit, yet...not? Its translucent body was of a light blue, the grass beneath it visible through it. Its skin was smooth, like soft glass. He absently wondered what touching it would feel like.

_What is it?_ Loki wondered, the thought repeating through his head, and suddenly, he was determined to catch it.

He leaned forward a little, experimenting. Its tail flinched but it did little else as it appeared to groom itself, although Loki wondered why it would be necessary; there wasn't any actual _fur_ on the thing. The whole creature could probably sit comfortably in the palm of his hand, should he be able to catch the little critter.

Looking up for a moment, the trickster prince surveyed the landscape. A green lawn with immaculately cut grass spread out in a large long rectangle that stretched before him, the end of it nearly too far to see. To each side, a hundred paces in each direction, stood large trees of various types in a long line- and interestingly, most were recognizable to him. It was artificial, yet beautiful. The sky was even bluer than on Asgard and white fluffy clouds seemed to sleep on the horizon, lazy in the midday sun.

And yet... far in the distance and in every direction, the setting was incomplete. The machine hadn't yet finished the landscape. None of this was real, yet it _felt_ real. The sun warmed him and the hard, flat stones beneath him held firm. The grass bent at his touch and the air smelled of sweet flowers.

Loki's eyes jumped back to the...Sprite? _Hm, Sprite. Why not? _That's what it looked like, at least to him. In Asgard they used magic to create translucent images for various purposes, to form pictures with shapes as close to reality as possible. Illusion magic had something more potent, a _true_ solid image, but Loki had yet to fully learn the technique- at least not yet. Mother was still trying to teach him.

When the Sprite moved, as if to run, Loki couldn't help it, he leapt from his spot and barely missed the creature as it sped away faster than any rabbit. The prince jumped up and sprinted after it- he _had_ to catch the tiny creature.

His legs carried him far as he followed it toward the line of trees. The stately boughs stood in perfect lines surrounded by cleanly cut grass, the sun falling easily through their cool leaves.

Stopping at a tree, Loki peered into the false-forest. Near the second line of trees waited the Sprite. The trickster smiled with open mouth, feeling his heart beat with anticipation. _I'll get you yet._ He took a step forward, then another, slow but steady.

One of the creature's long ears twitched, its head once again tilting, as if listening. Loki froze. He looked behind him, squinting in the sun.

Just behind where he had been sitting stood the grandeur of the House. Whitest stone stretching in both directions, walls solid beneath the painted sky. It was magnificent, truly. It was also a falsity, of course, since _this _image of the building appeared to have an end, and a top floor, but Loki knew better; the House has no end- not that he could find, at least. He and Thor had searched for days.

Long windows yawned at him, but that too was a lie, except for the large one in the library, which faced him. He'd found the exit in the grand room, to both he and Thor's surprise the day before. The machine- or rather, _Lares_, as it had repeated to him -had apparently decided to create an 'outside' for the brothers, and was still hard at it.

Looking forward again, Loki found the Sprite grooming itself. He rolled his eyes. _Again?_ The thing didn't even have a real body! And yet it was endearing, made him want to pet it, hold it.

Loki had to have it.

He took several more steps, watching with wide eyes and ready to run after it the moment it-

Loki sprang after it as it zipped away from him, its tiny legs barely hovering above the ground. The mischief prince ran this way and that, zigzagging and matching the creature's desperate movements, grass and dirt flying everywhere.

_You'll not get away so easily!_ He jumped high into the air, right where the creature was-! And fell flat on his face in the grass.

He hissed and pounded his fist on the soft turf. _Damn that little pest! I'll-_

Loud laughs rang out behind him. "What in the Nine Realms and beyond are you _doing_, brother?!" More laughs.

Loki fixed a glare on his face before turning his head. Looking down at himself, he realized he was spread-eagle on the ground, his hair messy and his clothing stained with grass.

Thor chuckled and scratched his head casually. "Having fun?"

The second prince sat up, looked about, his eyes roving about in frustrated excitement. "Did you see it?"

"See what?" Thor mirrored his brother's actions half-heartedly.

"The creature-"

"Creature?"

"The _Sprite_," Loki corrected as he stood up and brushed off his trousers. He _hated_ grass stains, or stains of any sort, but he was determined. The creature would be his!

"What? A Sprite?" He looked around again. "Here? Are you feeling feverish, brother?" The back of Thor's mocking hand went to Loki's forehead.

Loki tilted his head down as he glared at him with an annoyed _I don't have time for this_ look. As his glare didn't lessen, Thor slowly removed his hand and cleared his throat, smiling apologetically- or almost.

_Now where's that blasted creature gone?_ Loki turned about and searched the ground for signs of its tiny blue body. Thor followed his every move, as if his little brother was either a curious specimen to observe, or else he'd lost his mind.

"_Stop_ that, Thor," Loki ground out as he continued to search.

"Stop what?"

Loki straightened and gave Thor an incredulous look. "You can either _help_ or you can _stop_ _that_ and _leave_. I have to find it." He twirled around, wondering if it had gone back toward the House.

"I truly don't know what you're talking about, Loki. What creature do you think dwells here? I thought this wasn't real-"

"It's _not_, and," he smiled sweetly at Thor, "it's nice to know you _can_ listen when I'm speaking."

Thor rolled his eyes. "_The machine _said she was creating this place for us, that it's a..." He searched for the words.

"...Virtual world, Thor, _virtual_," Loki finished for him. "And clearly you weren't listened _that_ well." He bent to the side to look around Thor's bulk. Not there, either. Where could it be? Clearly, Thor had scared it off with his idiotic, ground-shaking voice.

Turning around- far too slowly -and following Loki's gaze, Thor lifted a brow. "I'm beginning to think I've no choice but to think you mad, brother. Where did you say you saw this...Sprite?"

Loki inhaled deeply. _Calm. Thor is just an idiot and you've known him your whole life._ He spread his lips into a condescending, humoring smile. "It's just a little creature I've been trying to catch. It's blue with large ears and it's quite...cute, actually," he added as he walked around a tree, finger sliding on the smooth bark.

"...'Cute'?" Thor made a face.

"What's that face," Loki said flatly.

"That word sounds...odd, coming from you."

"Odd? I can't say the word 'cute'? I've said it before."

"No, I don't think you have."

"I assure you, I have."

"I don't think so."

"_I have_."

Thor shook his head adamantly, crossing his arms.

Loki was ready to strangle him as he lifted a frustrated arm, although he wasn't sure what he'd do with it so he dropped it. His shoulders slumped. "Fine. Have it your way, I haven't said it before." He rolled his eyes, not really caring about the argument. _It doesn't matter, I have to find it!_

Thor smiled widely.

Loki continued, "Now go away so your ill-mannered blundering doesn't scare the Sprite away again. Shoo." Loki waved both hands away toward the House as he crouched down to ground level, thinking he might see the creature better from down there. He _had_ been sitting on the ground when he first spotted it, albeit closer to the House.

The blonde sighed loudly, then, to Loki's annoyance, he sat down. "I'll help you, then."

"I said _shoo_, Thor, not _sit down and help me_. Go away."

"You said to go away _or_ help; I've chosen the latter." His big smile was annoying, yet... _Oh, that stupid, endearing, moronic..._

Loki sat down next to him and tiredly rested his chin on his hand, his elbow on his knee. He absently picked at a piece of grass. "I think it's gone." Pouting. Now he was _pouting_ and _sulking_. Loki tried his best not to, but he _wanted_ the creature. It wasn't like anything he'd ever seen.

"My _poor _brother," Thor said as he rubbed his hand up and down Loki's back.

Loki hissed and elbowed the hand off. "I don't need _comforting_, you insensitive lout!"

His elder brother laughed and grabbed Loki from behind with an arm across his collarbone. "Don't be sad, brother!" He gave him a hearty shake next, squeezing too tightly. His voice was _grating_, and too loud. And his smile was annoying. "We'll find your creature. Or surely we could ask the machine to simply give you one. If this place is artificial, she could simply conjure one for you!"

_"I could,"_ interjected Lares' cool voice from the air.

Ignoring the machine, Loki couldn't help but continue sulking. "No. I don't want to, I want mine," he pouted. _Stop pouting, you idiot,_ he scolded himself. He was acting like a small child, and yet he didn't care. The only person here was Thor and he didn't care how he acted around him- the machine didn't count.

Nothing happened for a long while. Thor's arm draped more heavily over Loki's shoulders.

"Little brother," he said, leaning down, trying to look Loki in the eye as Loki purposefully tried to look away. "I'll help you search for it, hm? We have the whole day, after all."

_"And more,"_ said Lares. _"There are no predators in this part of the land and even at night there are lights throughout the forest."_

"See?" said Thor. He used a finger on Loki's chin to make him look at him. "Come. We can catch it together."

Loki narrowed his eyes at him, suspicious. "You'll search with me?" Thor nodded firmly. "You won't complain? Not once? Because I can search on my own-"

"I swear on my hammer's might I will not complain," he smiled affectionately. "_Not once_."

Slowly, a smile formed on Loki's face. Yes, he was being mischievous, roping Thor into this, but two people searching was always better than one. And what did Thor have better to do in this still very blank landscape? Nothing, probably. No beasts to hunt for food, no monsters to slay for glory, just the sun and trees and little creatures that scurried about in the grass when trickster gods tried to catch them.

"Are you ready?" Thor asked as he stood, eyes roving and shoulders rolling.

Loki too stood, quickly wiping his clothes of grass and straightening his hair. He chuckled at his brother. "You act as though some great hunt were about to begin."

A large smile spread on the thunderer's face. "If that is the only creature in this land, then a great hunt it is! We'll stay through the night, if necessary. We shall have to think up a grand song for this tale, we'll call it..." Loki stopped listening. Thor continued, bounding off as if glory and riches awaited him within the hide and pockets of the tiny blue creature.

Loki stared with wide eyes after him._ Oh my..._ _what have I done?_ He smirked, shook his head, then followed after his big brother.

* * *

**A/N: Yeaaah, where did this even come from? All that bizarre, creepy, unintentionally sad stuff from the last episode made fluff come out! That's my explanation. X3 **


	8. Blood Raven - Ch 1

**_**_**Summary**_**_****: Arriving at different points the moment they walk into a new world, Thor must find Loki if they are to return. Because what could happen if they aren't together when that time comes?******

**_**Tags **_**(for episode): **adventure, Loki-whump (more than the last episode), violence, some blood, ************h/c******************

**A/N: Unlike the last episode, this one is kind of a crossover. I say 'kind of' because it still focuses on Thor and Loki (and is from their perspective) so even if you know nothing about the universe it'll just feel like an original idea- like the previous episode. Anyway, this crosses over with the video game _Diablo II_, although this only covers one out of the many quests; fans of the game have probably already figured it out with the title. I've never read any _Diablo_ fan fiction so I hope this turns out okay.**

* * *

_**Blood Raven**_

**\- Chapter 1 -**

"My Rogue scouts have just reported an abomination in the monastery graveyards!" shouted a tall woman to those gathered near the fire pit. Her fierce eyes and hauberk reflected the flames in the cool dark.

Thor neared, although slowly, uncertain whether this was a private meeting meant only for the women-warriors who inhabited this makeshift encampment. Several murmurs drifted through the crowd as the thunder god crept closer, although he remained toward the back.

"What is the meaning of this, Kashya?" asked an elderly woman adorned in deep purple garments that covered her head. She approached from behind, the crowd parting easily. _Akara_, Thor recognized. She was the leader of this group of 'Rogues', as they called themselves, although the tall woman, Kashya, led the warriors.

"Blood Raven," hissed Kashya under her breath, her voice still carrying easily.

An ominous quiet settled over the group. The elderly woman nodded, gravely. "We should have expected; she has been missing for several weeks now, we could not have expected her safe return."

The Rogues and others gathered nodded solemnly. Thor frowned and wondered about this 'Blood Raven'.

Kashya walked amongst her warriors. "Sisters, I do not- and I _will not_ -ask you to stop our fallen Sister; she has gone too far astray and the corruption of Andariel is complete. I will not risk more lives when she cannot be saved, however..." She looked in each of their eyes. "We also cannot allow this dark force to reside so close to our safe haven here. I will not ask, but those that are called in their own hearts to do battle I will not stop. Go with the goodwill of all Rogues if your soul demands you fight this evil. Our Sisters here will hold back the tide assaulting these walls no matter what happens." Still those gathered did not move. Their captain nodded and they nodded in return, understanding flowing through them.

Thor raised his brows. _Who are these women?_

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Loki ran through the thick brush, feeling the sting of nettles tearing on his skin; he paid them little heed. His breath was too loud, he thought, and considered if his pursuers could hear. He swallowed and took the dirt road to the left, uncertain where it might lead.

The grassy plain was dark, barely lit by a sliver of moonlight. A low stone wall, crumbled with age, followed to his left and the dirt road turned into it where there was a break in it. Where could it lead? It didn't matter. A loud growl sounded somewhere behind and the trickster god hurried down the road, eyeing the trees flanking the path, wondering what other dangers might lurk there.

In other times he might have felt a fool for jumping at nothings in the dark, but in this place... After he arrived he was immediately attacked, creatures born from nightmares with blood-dipped teeth ready to devour. One was large, fur-covered but terrible, arms like tree trunks and growling breaths. Red creatures with horns and sharp teeth swarmed him, they wielded crude weapons and wore scant armor. Their build was shorter than Loki but they were terrifying in such large numbers.

Perhaps he could have defeated them, but more likely not. The trip through the portal always drained him and this was no exception. He cursed the band around his wrist although he no longer attempted its removal. What benefit would that be? He needed it to escape this place, after all.

He tripped on a small rock near the wall and turned to growl at it only to catch sight of several of the red creatures taking a turn down the same road.

_Damn._

Loki picked up his pace and ran into a large iron fence, taller than if he stood on Thor's shoulders. _What's this?_ Stepping back from it, he strained his eyes to see what lay beyond. _Stones._ Large carved stones jutting out of the ground as if purposefully placed there, and there were quite a many of them. He had little time to observe, however, so he ran- or rather stumbled -along the iron fencing, wondering what this place might be. He had barely taken ten steps before he ran into several of the large carved stones outside the fence. Quickly, he peered behind, and to his relief saw no one. Perhaps the red horned creatures had given up? He could only hope. Still, he didn't want to risk it so he hunched down on the other side of one of the flat stones to rest and, well..._hide._

After sitting for several minutes, Loki began to look closer at the stones. Many of them had writing on them, although he didn't quite understand at first. They had names, or what he assumed were names, and what looked to be numbers- the god's eyes widened.

_I can't be sitting on... Am I..?_ He looked down to where he was sitting. Suddenly, to his right, a hand burst out of the ground. Loki jumped, falling on his back. The hand was followed by a decrepit head, then a torso, then legs, its arms were- _no_, that was _one_ arm, rotted and falling apart. Loki stared with wide eyes, suddenly unable to move. _What..._is_ this?_

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"So, outlander," began the chainmail-clad Kashya as she regarded Thor, "welcome to our _glorious_ hovel. It isn't much but it keeps us safe...for now." Her expression fell a little as her eyes moved to the rough-hewn wooden wall surrounding the encampment. It was fleeting, though, and she straightened her back as she sat on a log by the fire. The others that had gathered earlier had dispersed some time ago.

"Thank you, my lady," said Thor.

"My _lady_," said the warrior woman, smiling a little. "You know very little of the Rogues if you regard us as such." Her expression was not condescending, strangely, and almost fond.

Thor smiled in return. "It is true, I know nothing of your people nor of this...world."

"Truly?" She lifted an eyebrow. "From where do you hail?" She interlocked her fingers in front of her and the way she sat was somewhat...unlady-like.

"Asgard," said Thor without hesitation.

She frowned a little. "Asgard... I have never heard of it. But forgive me, I've forgotten my manners- I am Kashya, leader of the warriors of the Rogues. It is a pleasure to greet you, warrior of Asgard."

She extended an arm and Thor took it, heartily grabbing her forearm, glad to see these Rogues shared something similar with his people. "And I to you, Lady Kashya. I am Thor, son of Odin."

Again, she smiled. "_Lady._" She tipped her head to the side. "We are unaccustomed to that word here, outlander. We have neither courts nor nobility, and no titles like the peoples outside of our lands. But that is not a discussion for tonight, tell me: why have you come?"

Thor furrowed his brow, uncertain how to phrase it. Well, he might as well start with the easy part. "I am...searching for someone."

"Oh?"

He nodded. "My brother. After I arrived in this land I...could not find him," he finished, uncertain how else to explain.

The warrior sighed. "I am sorry, Thor, but...these are dark times. The demons summoned by the demoness Andariel are many, we cannot even protect our own people, I-" she sighed again, a sympathetic look crossing her face, "I do not believe your brother could have survived in the wild. Is he, perhaps, a warrior like yourself?"

Thor winced a little. How should he answer that? Loki could, of course, hold his own in a fight, but calling him a _warrior_, truly, well _that_ he was uncertain of. Still, it didn't matter; their previous experiences taught them that travelling to these universes drained the younger prince of much of his energy, although the strength of the effect seemed to differ each time. Even if Loki _could_ otherwise have fought an enemy, his condition after arriving was likely precarious, at best. But how did they get separated?

Kashya took Thor's hesitation for confirmation. "I am sorry," she said again, sadness in her voice. "The demons in the wild would not spare anyone-"

"You don't know Loki," Thor interjected. "He may not be a...warrior, exactly, but he is strong. If only he had his magic..." he finished under his breath.

"Magic?" asked the warrior. She leaned a little closer. "Then is he a sorcerer?" Thor stared. A smile stretched her face. "Perhaps there is hope, then. If his mana holds he may yet live."

"Mana?" asked Thor.

She nodded, frowning a little. "Yes, the essence of magic. Your brother is a sorcerer and you don't know of mana?"

He hesitated. "As I said, this place is new to us. Your words are...different. However, if I understand your meaning, I'm afraid his power would be all but drained..." Thor ran a hand down his face. "I do not know." His eyes stared into the fire.

A short silence passed. "I understand," said Kashya.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

A loud cry, like a dozen voices speaking at once forced the mischief god's head up where it rested on a nearby rock. He straightened up, looking about. A fog had grown and Loki wondered how long he had been asleep. _Asleep? What am I doing?_ He shivered- not exactly from the cold -and peeked over to where the creature, whatever it was, had risen from its grave.

The moment the thing had crawled its way out of the ground Loki had run to hide behind a rock, suddenly realizing that the thing was _dead_. Or it had been. Rotting flesh and a missing limb made it quite obvious. He had heard stories of the draugr, the undead brought back, but he thought them only tales to frighten children. Luckily, the thing hadn't seen him and he quickly realized that while the body had returned...perhaps, the mind had not. It stood where it had burst out of the ground and did very little. It moaned sadly and occasionally looked about, but little else. Feeling a modicum of safety- or perhaps simply boredom -Loki had fallen asleep in his hiding spot.

But this voice. This voice that rose over the all-encompassing silence that had permeated the air of this place. Loki inhaled a shaky breath. He peeked at the iron-wrought fence, squinting into the fog.

Movement.

He held his breath. Figures moved in the dark mist, slowly with labored gait- actually, much like his undead companion who remained near his once-grave.

Movement again, but this time, quicker. So much quicker than anything he had previously seen. White and red in the blanketing mist. It disappeared as quickly as it had come.

_Hmm._ The god continued squinting, straining his eyes and curious about whatever he had seen. Was it some new sort of monster? Perhaps it was what's responsible for the dead coming to life. His eyes adjusting more to the dark, he noticed there were, in fact, several more undead creatures roaming about opposite the fence. _What are you, strange creature?_ he absently wondered.

Quiet. Too quiet. Even his new companion made no sound, no moan or shuffled foot.

Loki's heart beat faster and faster in his chest. _I don't care _what_ you are, _where_ are you?_ His eyes darted back and forth. The moonlight seemed diminished now, it was so dark.

Although he was curious, he was still too frightened to come out of hiding. Looking to his right, he noticed, a few steps a way, a large bush and a tree next to each other. Beyond that, barely a step away, was the iron fence. Deciding the foliage might prove a better hiding place than this rock- or so he told himself -Loki quickly scurried toward them, hunched over and panting, hoping no one, or nothing, would hear. He swallowed thickly when he reached the tree, his hand finding the bark smooth to the touch. At this distance he could see better, the bars of the fence wide enough to see through clearly. The carved stones were numerous, and a quick glance around told Loki that the iron fence boxed in the center of the large, grassy area. The stones were broken here and there, with several gaping holes in the ground indicating where the dead had emerged from their eternal slumber- or was meant to be.

Eyes searching, he still couldn't glimpse the red and white creature that he had seen earlier. _Where are you?_ The undead roamed, seemingly aimlessly, and did little to obstruct his view, so where was it?

It wasn't until Loki felt a blow to his head and a vicious cry on the winds that he realized his folly in paying attention only to what was ahead. _Fool!_ he scolded himself. But his mind was swimming as he tried to sit up, his eyes so heavy that he couldn't lift them.

Then the voice, like so many speaking in unison, shouted to the air, "_Join my army of the dead!_"

Loki lost consciousness.

* * *

**A/N: Like the last episode, I'll be updating this every week, but the second chapter will be updated in a few days. Thursday/Friday will be my update day this time around. **

**While those of you unfamiliar with the game might feel confused, because Thor and Loki are also new to this world everything will have to be explained to them, so exposition will fit into the story regardless. Feel free to ask questions, though.**


	9. Blood Raven - Ch 2

**A/N: Here's the next chapter, as promised. I just want to mention to any _Diablo_ fans that I haven't played D3 so I'll only be going off of the first two games.**

* * *

_**Blood Raven**_

**\- Chapter 2 -**

It wasn't until he'd reached the edge of the encampment that Thor noticed a dark figure following him. He might not have noticed except Loki had been trying- and mostly not succeeding -to teach the thunder god to heed his surroundings, that, as his younger brother had put it, 'Even the mighty Thor can be stabbed in the back.' Thor had scoffed and smiled at the time, noting that a simple stabbing would be little issue to him. _Still_, perhaps Loki's words had not been completely lost to deaf ears.

Thor was never one for sneaking about or even being _quiet_ when venturing into dangerous territory- not that he was incapable, exactly -but this shadowy figure following him was beginning to annoy. Thus, he stepped behind a large wooden wagon and waited, certain the person would expect him to continue on.

Light footsteps approached and before they could hear Thor's breathing- or whatever Loki was always on about -he reached out and grabbed them around the collar, shoving them against the side of the wagon. Thor was careful not to harm them; he knew his own strength was too much for most, but he held them firmly, nonetheless.

It was clearly a man- to which Thor was extremely grateful, considering the prevalence of women in this camp -who struggled very little, putting up two hands in apparent surrender.

"Who are you?!" whispered the thunder god, although louder than he was going for. It was ever a struggle to keep his voice down in these sorts of situations.

The man kept his hands up, his face hooded by a cloak and shadows. "I mean you no harm," he said, mostly calmly, although he couldn't mask the slight fear in his voice. He sounded quite young, yet his voice was cool and deep, but almost mellifluous.

Thor smirked. "You mean _me_ no harm? An interesting thing to say in your position. I _asked_: who are you?"

"Would it matter _who _I am if you know nothing of this world?"

Thor frowned a little; he knew that tone. He didn't loosen his grasp as he continued to stare at the other. "Tell me your name, then."

"Samiel," the man replied simply.

"Samiel," repeated Thor. "And to what purpose do you follow the god of thunder?" Thor winced, and even without seeing his face he could sense the other's confusion. Thor _knew_ this was a wholly different place from home, surely this man wouldn't understand who or even what Thor was.

The man seemed to ignore what he didn't understand. "As I said, it is not to harm. I have no ill will toward you...or your brother."

At the mention of his brother, and more so from a man he had never met and who followed Thor in the shadows, the thunderer tightened his grip and closed what little distance was between them. "What do you know of my brother?" Thor seethed through his teeth. Could this...Samiel be somehow involved with Loki's disappearance? The hooded man turned his head slightly at Thor's face nearing, but kept his calm and his hands raised.

"Nothing," he said quickly, voice strangely calm. "My apologies, I know nothing of your brother, however..."

"Yes?" Thor didn't let up.

Samiel sighed. "Is _this _necessary..?" he indicated their positions.

"_Yes_," hissed Thor. "Tell me what you know and then I will release you- not before. _Speak_."

"The Rogues, they won't help you," he stated.

"I have already spoken to their captain, Kashya-"

"Yes, yes, I know." Thor didn't bother to ask _how_ he knew, he couldn't care less at the moment. The man continued, "She did tell you that she could spare no one?" Thor nodded. "What she hasn't told you is that one of her scouts spotted a man running into the old Burial Grounds."

Thor frowned. "She said nothing of this."

"Nor would she; Kashya is a compassionate woman but she looks out for her _Rogues_ first, others second. I can't say I blame her. If people suddenly knew that their loved ones were out there and might be retrieved, they would ask for aid from the warrior Rogues- aid Kashya can't afford at the moment."

"So? To what purpose? She encouraged me to find him and said he might yet live."

Samiel chuckled through his nose. "Have you seen yourself? Clearly you're a warrior. The captain of the Sisters was doubtless being cautious in not telling you. Perhaps she would eventually mention where he might be; however, confirmation of his whereabouts might encourage you to ask for aid. Otherwise, well...you seem determined to find him. I assume- and she would as well -that you will go after your brother, regardless."

Finally, Thor backed up, although he didn't let him go. "Your words ring true, but...that still does not explain _who_ you are or why you are telling me this. These Rogues are all women, what purpose do you have here?" asked Thor as he tried to see passed the shade of the man's hood without success.

Samiel adjusted his posture a little but didn't struggle to be completely free. "I might ask the same of you..._Thor_, is it?"

Thor had no time for this, it was like talking to Loki! "Do not answer my question with another question."

After a moment, he answered, "I am simply...an interested party." Thor narrowed his eyes and stepped closer. Samiel put his hands up again, backing away. "Now, now, not that again. To be more frank, I'm offering you aid in finding your brother."

"Yes, but _why_."

"My reasons are my own. You only need to know that, at the moment, our goals coincide."

"And what is your goal?" Thor released him completely and crossed his arms, although he didn't step away. He didn't want the man running away- he had been useful so far.

"Please don't make me repeat myself. Suffice it to say, I need your help in getting to Blood Raven, and you need help in getting there."

Thor wasn't convinced...yet. "Why haven't you gone yourself? Are you not a warrior?" Thor didn't mean it as an insult, but he couldn't help but smirk.

Adjusting his coat, Samiel snickered, "You make it sound as though _not_ being a warrior is something to be ashamed of. I am not a warrior, no, although I _can fight_."

Thor raised a brow. "Hm, good enough. However, I still do not trust you."

He gave a breathy laugh. "There are few who would, but then, I somehow doubt this caution is due to any prejudice on your part. You probably wouldn't even know what to think of my craft."

This was _worse _than speaking to Loki. At least Thor knew what his brother meant if he was- however rarely -speaking plainly. With this man and most others here, Thor couldn't be certain of anything they meant; what was obvious to them might not be to the thunder god.

Samiel walked away from Thor, albeit somewhat slowly, looking back at him as if to make certain Thor would follow.

Catching up to him, Thor asked, "Where are we going?"

"To Charsi."

"You say that as if I am meant to know who that is."

"You should," he chuckled derisively. "Charsi's the only blacksmith in town. She also buys and sells wares with both the Rogues and passing travelers."

Thor nodded. _A woman blacksmith?_ Truly this world was strange. It wasn't exactly unheard-of in Asgard, or the other realms, simply...unusual. Of course, entire camps of warrior women were also unusual so he should probably learn to be less surprised by these things.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

_"Join my army of the dead!"_

The words echoed in Loki's mind, bouncing about and making his head hurt. Although his eyes wouldn't open, he quickly realized the voice had only been in his mind, the moment long past.

But where was he now?

He breathed harshly, trying to ignore the pain radiating through his body. When he finally opened his eyes, he wished he hadn't. Looking down, he saw points of arrows sticking out of his torso- three, and their ragged fletching covered in blood.

Loki groaned and tried to move his arms, only to find them chained together. He looked down again and suddenly had the urge to vomit at the sight. _Don't look, just don't look._ He coughed up some blood but knew that at least his lungs hadn't been punctured or he'd be in a world of...well, _more_ pain.

Trying to steady his breath, he looked around for the first time. The room smelled of old dust and decay mingled with rotting flesh and blood. _What a wonderful smell to wake up to._ The walls were dark stone, covered with what looked like centuries of grime and cobwebs. An old brazier stood in one corner, dying coals barely enough to light half the room.

Loki himself was laid atop some sort of flat cold surface, about waist high. To his left was an entrance, open and dark, with nothing to show what lay beyond. Coughing some more, Loki looked above and to his right. Nothing else but more walls. _So, only one way out._

He tried to sit up- then quickly decided against it. _No, I think I'll just lay here for a bit._ Still, he would have to remove the arrows if he was to heal properly.

His magic was slowly returning, but still insufficient to get him back to the House. They'd learned very quickly that it was Loki _himself _who powered the band around his wrist. _And_, even if his magic were at full power, he couldn't return without Thor. _Ugh. Why must this always happen to me?_

A momentary panic filled him as he quickly raised his right arm to check. He sighed, relief flooding him. _Still there..._ The metal contraption on his wrist hadn't somehow been removed, it's silvery surface still where it should be.

He winced at the movement, all at once feeling the pain return. _I have to pull these out._ He lifted his head but immediately laid back down. _Idiot. Stop moving!_ From what he could tell, none of the arrows had gone all the way through.

He put one hand on the arrow closest to his stomach, but hesitated. No time to do it properly and push it through... _Just do it!_ He yanked it out with a strangled cry, breathless curses on his lips. He strained to breathe and felt tears pricking his eyes, but he was determined.

Again, he placed a hand on an arrow. _Two to go..._ The next arrow pulled some...parts out. Loki choked and turned his head, not looking. He threw the arrow away. _I'll heal, it's not an issue, I'll heal._

_Now the last._ He was breathing too fast, he feared he might pass out before the third was removed. _Don't pass out, have to do this-_ With one swift movement he ripped it out, unable to contain a scream this time. Tears fell down his face but he didn't care, they were _out._ He didn't bother to look at the arrow as he threw it aside, then tried to assess whatever damage might have been done.

Unable to hold his head up to look, he moved onto his left side. Gasping sharply and whimpering at the movement, he finally settled, then checked his chest. He would heal, yes, but leaving open, gaping wounds would slow down the process. How could he do anything, though? He was chained up and without aid, without his magic, so what was he to do? And more important still, who had taken him? Surely they had left him here to die, what might happen if they returned to find him still alive?

As if the universe decided to answer his question, Loki's eyes caught movement, of someone entering through the dark door.

Loki blinked. It was...a woman. Well, not quite a woman- or was it? He frowned. She was too pale, the color of ash, and she wore blackened armor in ragged strips, as if it was once a beautiful set but had seen too much wear and not enough repair. Her entire body was dirty and bloody, her nearly black hair stringy and unkempt, her eyes...white.

The mischief god flinched severely when she approached, returning to laying flat on his back.

The woman- or whatever she was -bared her teeth, nearly growling. There was something...animalistic about her behavior, although still graceful, like a predator. She carried a wicked looking morning star covered in blood.

There was someone behind her, one of the undead creatures from earlier. It, too, made some noise, a ragged groan that followed unblinking, staring eyes.

Both entered the room and circled the god, although the woman moved without stumbling like the other did.

Loki's strained breathing filled the room. _What do they want?_ The female cocked her head to the side, watching him. She bared her teeth again, hissing, eyes wide. Her vicious white eyes suddenly fell on the metal around Loki's wrist and she let out a loud growl.

"Want!" her deep, grating voice screamed.

She lunged forward, hands finding the wrist-device and pulling at it. Caught off-guard, Loki was jerked off the stone slab, his body falling halfway to the ground, hitting hard. He yelped and gritted his teeth, trying to get away. "Stop!" he tried to scream, but it came out a hoarse whisper.

Next, the undead creature let out a loud groan and stumbled forward as he attempted to fight the woman for, presumably, possession of the shiny metal.

The two dragged Loki around in an effort to wrest the device away, causing his wounds to pull so terribly that he couldn't even inhale enough to scream.

Finally, the two let go and began fighting each other. The female all too quickly dispatched the other, morning star crunching against the hollow-sounding head of the undead. She bellowed a screech and went for Loki, who was in too much pain to attempt escape.

"Mine!" she screamed, again attempting to remove the metal.

Loki coughed and choked on something warm in his throat, words slow to form as he gasped, "Stop...you can- can't..." he coughed again, "remove it. Tried- I've tried-" She seemed completely unaware that Loki was even in the room, jerking him this way and that in her futile attempts.

Her mouth went wide in frustration, showing jagged teeth, as she slowly lifted her spiked weapon. "_Mine_..." she said in an almost normal voice, yet somehow it terrified Loki even more. _No, she can't!_

But before the weapon could strike his arm, a blur of motion struck at her. Falling to the side and hitting a wall, the female growled until she looked up, then, seeing her attacker she slunk back, twitching and sliding across the wall, as if everything was forgotten.

Loki looked up.

Red. White.

So stark against the gloom of the room. A woman stood there, taller than he had ever seen. Her skin white as snow, flawless but almost...artificial; a wax figurine brought to life. Equally white horns protruded from her head, smooth against the shaded background. She wore blood-red armor which contrasted her pale skin like thick veins throughout her body.

Loki couldn't stop staring. Her completely black eyes regarded the other female in the room for a moment, then looked down at the trickster. He winced.

A long deep hiss came forth from her mouth as she showed her pointed teeth. "_Not...dead_," she stated calmly. He had a difficult time comprehending her voice, which sounded as though dozens of people were speaking at once, deep and sinister.

With one arm she lifted Loki up by the neck and threw him back on the stone slab, which Loki now guessed was something meant to hold the dead given their location. It wasn't exactly somewhere he wanted to be, not that he wanted to be _anywhere_ near this place. He cried out at the impact and curled in on himself.

"_Not dead_," she repeated, staring at him with unblinking eyes. Loki shrunk back, breath straining within his tired chest. He wanted to speak but could think of nothing to say. Clearly these were no longer..._people_, could they be undead, too? She began moving toward the door, but before passing through it said, "_Bring him._"

Loki swallowed as the other in the room moved toward him.

* * *

**A/N: So what do you guys think so far? **

**I thought some of you non-_Diablo_ fans might want to know the premise of the game before we go further. It basically goes like...**

**'Diablo', a kind of Big Bad evil, is loose in the world of 'Sanctuary' (yes, that's what it's actually called) and his evil minions are rampaging across the land and you, the hero (chosen from one of several classes), have to stop him, fighting said evil minions along the way. That's the gist of it, very much summarized, of course. The game has a vaguely Judeo-Christian motif, with demons and angels and such, but in a very fantasy-oriented way. Still, no elves, dwarves, etc. just humans.**


	10. Blood Raven - Ch 3

**A/N: There's quite a bit of talking in this chapter, hope you guys don't mind. **

* * *

_**Blood Raven**_

**\- Chapter 3 -**

There was some sort of commotion near the blacksmith's tent. Thor and his new companion walked around the edge of the encampment, for what reason Thor was uncertain, and approached the woman Charsi's forge.

"Why are we speaking with a blacksmith?" asked Thor.

Samiel answered in a hushed tone, "It's not Charsi I'm looking to speak to."

Thor frowned. "Then why are we seeking her, then?"

"Because the person I _am_ looking for will no doubt be at her forge."

A woman's voice rose up from ahead, "You are a most skilled smith, Charsi, but your speed is somewhat lacking."

"What can I say," returned a cheerful woman's voice, "I have far too many orders to fill right now. If you need new weapons or armor, try Gheed."

A frustrated sigh. "I'm not speaking to that conniving weasel of a man. I have to leave _today_-"

Both women stop as they noticed the two men approaching.

"Hi, there," called a muscled, slightly burly woman as she walked toward them, "I'm Charsi. Can I help you with something?" Her tied-up light hair framed a welcoming face as she smiled. Her apron was well-used and her face and hands blackened from soot.

The other woman rolled her eyes. Now she was a sight, Thor thought. She was as tall as Loki and had hair as blonde as Thor's, which was tied tight at the crown of her head and braided in a long line. Her face was bold but beautiful, her skin tanned and her fingers calloused from use. She wore red-orange leather armor and carried a large bow on her back and what appeared to be several javelins at her side. A warrior if Thor had ever seen one.

"Hello, Charsi," said Samiel, pleasantly.

Charsi frowned a little at him, but her smile remained. "I've not seen you before, another of the adventurers to pass through here..?" Her eyes moved to Thor as she beamed, looking to him. "Are you a Barbarian?" she asked excitedly, eyes twinkling.

"Eh," Thor's brow furrowed, "I do not believe so..."

She sighed, apparently disappointed. "It's a shame, although I don't mean to be rude. It's nice to meet you-" she reached out her arm, then retracted it at the sight of her blackened hands. "Sorry about that, my name-"

The other woman stepped forward. "I believe they heard you the first time, Charsi," she said in a friendly tone, approaching Thor and Samiel. Thor couldn't help but notice the way Samiel lowered his head, as if to hide behind his hood. "Although," she continued, "I don't believe you know me, I'm Jophien." She, too, reached out an arm and Thor took it, noticing her firm and sure grip.

"I am Thor, son of Odin," Thor returned, smiling. She smiled back, although in a subdued manner. Thor continued, "And greetings to you as well, Charsi." He nodded to the beaming blacksmith.

"Jophien..." murmured Samiel.

The blonde woman turned to him, good-nature suddenly replaced by caution. "And you are?" she asked as she scrutinized his appearance.

"You're an Amazon, aren't you?" he asked instead of answering.

She acknowledge it with a sideways dip of her head. "What gave me away?" came her vaguely sarcastic tone.

Samiel barely moved. "Your name," he answered, despite her rhetorical question. "I have heard of you."

She nodded in understanding, as if this happened to her often. "But I have not heard of you; what is your name, stranger?" She took a step forward.

"Does it matter?" he asked, remaining still.

"I may not be a Rogue, dear traveler, but I reside here as much as they. Show me your face." She took another step.

This time he took a small step backward. "To what purpose?" he asked, voice low. Thor didn't know what was happening so he did nothing. The truth was, he didn't trust this man either. Apparently, others felt the same by even a glance at him.

"How do I know you're not a spy for the Enemy?" Jophien asked.

"Do I look like a demon to you? One of the undead? Or maybe one of the corrupted Sisters..?"

"They may disguise themselves," she interrupted. "Who knows what dark arts they employ- show me your face." Her hand went to her side, to her weapon, ready for anything.

Seeing this move, Samiel seemed to deflate, sighing. He snickered. "So paranoid." Shrugging, he removed his hood.

Jophien narrowed her eyes slightly, then smirked and snorted. "A _Necromancer_. I should have known." She waved a dismissive hand at him and stepped back, although she continued to eye him.

Thor's eyebrows went up. This man was the palest man he had ever seen- and that was saying something, Loki's paleness was almost legendary. But it wasn't just Samiel's skin, his hair was whiter than snow, cut short. He wore primarily black leather armor- if it could be called armor, more like a long surcoat over plain leather clothes. His eyes were not an exception to his strangeness, a gray color that was almost purple. He was young, or appeared younger than Thor, at least. He couldn't be certain of how these people aged.

"So you've found me out," said Samiel. "I'm sure you're quite proud."

"Don't be absurd," said the Amazon, "I care nothing about your kind. You'll find I'm not as quick to judge as others-" She stopped suddenly, her face darkening in thought. A moment later, however, it was gone. She looked at him straight. "Unless of course you _are_ here as a spy?"

Samiel's lips stretched. "And if I were? What would you do about it?"

Suddenly, Jophien stepped up, almost as close to the white-haired man as Thor had been earlier. "Is it your custom to perpetuate prejudices, then? Should I assume your intentions are not only dark, but evil as well, Necromancer?"

He leaned back a little from the tall woman but didn't move. "I've no ill intent in this camp." His hand flicked up in an innocent gesture. "I only seek an Amazon worthy enough for the quest to take on Blood Raven."

She frowned a little. "What interest would you have in her?"

"Are you not going after her?"

"Do you always answer questions with questions?" she countered.

Thor snorted. They both looked at him. "Do not mind me," said Thor. "It's like watching my brother verbally spar with Sif, eh- a lady warrior from my own land," he quickly added. "Of course," he continued, watching the two step away from each other, "Sif does not tower over my brother as you do, my lady," he added to try to further lighten the mood.

Naturally, Thor had no clue what was happening. Whatever this "Necromancer" was, he assumed they had a less than desireable reputation for the man to hide his appearance until now. Did he think Thor would do something if he had found out before?

Charsi chuckled nervously, although with some humor. "A Necromancer, hm? I've...never met any of your kind." He raised a brow at her but said nothing. "But...stay away from Gheed," she smirked. "He'll probably have a fit if he sees you." She stopped and looked thoughtful for a moment. "On second thought, maybe you _should_ go say hello to him." She smiled widely, earlier nervousness forgotten.

Samiel regarded her with a strange look, but said nothing as he pulled his hood back over his head.

"Why have you sought me out, Necromancer," asked Jophien. "You have your large friend here," she indicated Thor and nodded to him to show she meant no offense. "Why would you need me?"

"I don't know that I will," he answered. "But we both know Blood Raven's power, and I assumed you would be seeking her out anyway."

The woman nodded her agreement, even if she still regarded him coldly. "True enough." She flicked her head at Thor. "What's your purpose here, Thor, son of Odin. Do you, too, seek Blood Raven?"

Thor frowned. "I am not certain. At any other time a promise of battle would be enough, however, my purpose is to find my brother, nothing more."

"Your brother? A noble cause. I must say I would be surprised if he yet lives," her face softened a little at her words. Clearly, word traveled fast in the camp. "My apologies, I don't mean to sound cold, it's just..."

"I know," Thor interrupted, "I've been told as much by others, but my brother is strong. Even if he could not fight, our kind are extremely hardy. It would not be easy to..." He couldn't finish as he looked down.

It was true, Loki was not the strongest in Asgard- at least _physically_, but he was as resilient as most and sometimes even more so given his magical nature.

"Very well," said the Amazon as she gathered her things from Charsi's forge. "If this is to be a quest, and you two my companions, I will need better equipment. Mine have seen too much action of late- Charsi?" The blacksmith perked up as if broken from her thoughts. "Do you have something to replace my bracer with?"

"Do you have coin?"

The Amazon hesitated and looked annoyed. "I have been too far from home," she mumbled under her breath.

"Here," Samiel held out his hand, presenting a small black bag.

She narrowed her eyes at it, then looked to him. "You're trying to pay for new equipment?"

He shrugged. "You've clearly seen more battle than I recently, and if we're to travel together, I can't have your leathers falling apart..." He trailed off as his face took on a thoughtful look for a moment and his hand jerked back a little as if he were re-thinking it. A teasing smile formed.

Jophien narrowed her eyes at him. "Amusing, Necromancer." She snatched the black pouch from his hand and gave it to Charsi. The blacksmith rummaged through it and took her share, handing it back to Samiel. He smirked but made no comment.

.

In the morning, the three set off into what the Amazon and Necromancer named the Blood Moor. Thor had already passed through it and killed several small creatures that flicked irritating quills from their bodies at him. He had dispatched them easily and found the encampment nearby.

Peering across the flat expanse of the moor, Thor sighed. _Where are you, brother?_

The lingering mist answered with an ominous quiet.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The over-powering stench of decay and death made Loki's head swim. The further he was dragged, the worse it became. He had thus far avoided vomiting, but he retched and coughed, afraid he would lose whatever nothing was in his stomach at any moment.

A second warrior-undead-woman had joined the first and the pair dragged Loki out of his small room. Most of the place was too dark to see, however, and what he could see confirmed his assumption that this was an abode of the dead. The roof was crumbling and the floor cracked, with wrapped bodies tucked into shelves along the walls.

_What a barbaric thing to do with the deceased,_ thought Loki, trying to keep his mind off the smell and just where he was being taken, and worse yet, _why_.

The second pale woman looked much like the first, except she carried a bow on her back. Clearly they were sound enough in mind to wield weapons, yet they spoke as if they barely even remembered proper speech- almost like animals that had gained a rudimentary understanding of language. The two mostly just growled and occasionally lashed out at the few decrepit corpses that had been reanimated. Loki still couldn't decide if the two women were undead as well, although they were as pale as death. They didn't appear to be rotting and their skin was mostly intact, excepting for a few scars and gashes.

As they continued dragging him by his arms down corridor after corridor, Loki decided he could risk a few words. _Perhaps they have no one clever enough to speak to..._ If they were surrounded by idiots, how could they respond except in kind? _Ludicrous_. He didn't care. "W-where are you taking me?" he tried in as small a voice as possible.

They stopped. Loki swallowed.

The one to his left, the first one, jerked her head around to look at him, eyes insanely wide, almost angry, savage. She hissed first, then growled at him as the other did the same.

"Never mind," Loki mumbled quickly under his breath, but he apparently wasn't quiet enough as they shook him and held tighter to his arms, making him wince and try to pull away. The pressure continued as they stared at him. "Alright, alright!" he hissed. "I'm sorry, I-I'll shut up now."

They barely let up as they absent-mindedly continued on their way with a deep growl and grunt.

.

After what seemed like an eternity, Loki found himself being thrown into the center of a fairly large room that stretched in four directions, like a cross. Pillars lined every wall, along with numerous candelabras and braziers.

The god curled a little into himself, worried he would reopen his already healing wounds again. If he could heal enough, perhaps he could regain some strength to escape. His magic was too slow in returning, but his physical body was healing as it should.

The two women walked to different ends of the room, seemingly lost in whatever was left of their minds.

From a door at the end of the room approached the terrifying white and red woman from earlier. She walked in with teeth bared; Loki only realized when she got closer that it was supposed to be a smile.

_"Sisters,"_ her strange deep voice began,_ "we have not paid homage to the Maiden of Anguish in far too long. Let us send her a _gift_." _She whipped around to one of the 'Sisters'._ "Send for one of the Fallen; let us not keep our Lady waiting." _

_This sounds...ominous._

* * *

**A/N: I kind of noticed that the last episode centered on Loki more than Thor and this episode is sort of the opposite, lol. **

**So did any of you Diablo fans guess what Samiel was before it was mentioned? Also, not sure if it's noticeable yet, but Samiel and Jophien aren't meant to be perfect representations of the character classes; sort of my own versions, I guess.**


	11. Blood Raven - Ch 4

**A/N: Sorry, guys, I totally forgot I was supposed to update this yesterday. Got distracted writing another of my fics, lol. Well anyway, here ya go.**

* * *

_**Blood Raven**_

**\- Chapter 4 -**

If it weren't for the dire circumstances of his brother's possible demise, Thor would have thought this fun. The Amazon lady Jophien was as proficient a warrior as he had guessed, and although the Necromancer did not fight as directly, often using spells, he too dispatched many of their common foe. Besides, it was almost like having Loki around- Thor winced at the thought. No. No one was like Loki, no one could ever replace him.

A javelin flew passed Thor and struck a- quiet disturbing -female warrior that appeared far too pale to be alive. _Dark Hunters_ the two had called them, corrupted Rogues that had turned to darkness, turned by some great evil they named Andariel. Apparently this Andariel was the reason the Rogues were in their new encampment, having been forced out of their monastery home.

With his new but adequate sword Thor sliced a small red creature with horns and moved on to the next of its kin. There were perhaps a dozen of them, all so...weak. He turned around to dispatch another only to feel a small stabbing pain in his back leg. Thor whipped around. _Another?! _He lashed out at it, easily decapitating it. He turned back to fell another, then another, then _another._

_Surely they would have all died by now?_

He heard Samiel chuckling from where he had just felled another of the Dark Hunters beneath his poisoned dagger. "Those are the Fallen, outlander!" He walked casually toward Thor, then, in a flash, the Necromancer's dagger flew passed Thor and embedded in another of the Fallen, except this creature was larger and wore some sort of elaborate head-decoration, an ornate spear in its clawed hand. Thor frowned. The pale man continued as a bolt of white magic took out two more Fallen, "The big one is a Shaman. He brings the smaller ones back; kill him first." He retrieved his dagger and smirked, looking sidelong at Thor.

From some ways away the battle cry of the Amazon reached their ears. Momentarily worried, Thor stood at the ready. Again, the Necromancer chuckled. "Don't worry over our friendly Amazon, Thor. Her kind are not so easily dispatched."

Thor smiled. "If I did not know better I'd say I hear admiration in your voice."

Samiel pursed his lips and canted his head, as if conceding the point. "The Amazons, much like the Barbarians, live for war." He stood directly in front of Thor. "You needn't worry for her." He started toward their companion's position. Thor killed the last Fallen and followed. "Although, I have a feeling your people are less accustomed to women warriors than those in these lands, am I correct?" His eyes met Thor's briefly.

"What of it?" asked Thor. He wasn't being defensive, but the Necromancer's tone was almost offensive.

"Simply an observation," said the man as they reached the warrior. "And," he added as they watched a large fur-covered creature fall by a javelin to the head, "perhaps I'm simply pointing it out because you can't go trying to save her when in the middle of fighting. There's been many a conflict and misunderstanding when Amazons or Rogues fight alongside men unwilling to accept these women's lack of fragility."

Jophien called from her position, "You sound like a man who's seen the world, Necromancer." She retrieved her unbroken javelins. "But," she wiped her face of blood, not really succeeding, "you clearly haven't seen very much of it if your skill at your chosen craft is any indication."

The pale man narrowed his eyes, although he didn't counter her words.

Thor spoke before the two could begin fighting again; they seemed very fond of it. "You fight well enough from what I can see- both of you," he added.

Jophien walked up to Samiel with a purpose. "You're young, Samiel, don't act otherwise. You'll get yourself, or worse, _us_ killed if you don't learn faster."

"Learn _faster_? Do you understand what it takes to be a-"

"That's not what I meant," she cut him off, eyes boring into his. His brow furrowed slightly. "Stop holding _back_," she tapped his chest with the back end of her javelin. He continued staring at her, saying nothing. "_Learn_ to use everything you have. Stop being ashamed of what you are, Necromancer."

He breathed in and out through his nose, his jaw rigid.

"You chose this life," she said, voice suddenly softer. His eyes flicked to hers, almost in anger. "Live it. Don't be something you're not." She walked around him then turned back around to Thor. "Thor," he looked to her but felt somewhat like an intruder suddenly, "there lie the Cold Plains." She pointed behind him, beyond the fog. "If it is true that Blood Raven has your brother, we will find her- and him -in the ancient Burial Grounds of the Rogues."

Thor nodded as he eyed the fog, wishing he could see beyond.

After a long moment of silence, Samiel spoke quietly to Jophien. "May I ask you a question?" She continued looking around but nodded. "Have you ever...killed one of my kind before?" Her face whipped around to meet his at the odd question.

Thor scratched his beard and walked a few steps away, although he still listened in, far too curious what her answer might be.

"Why would you ask such a thing?" she said instead.

He sighed. "It's a simple question-"

"Is it? Why do you wish to know?"

He shrugged. "We don't exactly congregate. Other than my master I've never met another of my kind before."

"Then why ask if I've killed one?"

He shifted his weight. "I'm simply...curious." He smirked a little. "We are by nature quite morbid, you know."

She stared at him for a moment then looked away. "Once. Yes. His body lies in the hills beyond my village."

Neither said anything further.

.

As they camped that night, the fire was small, shaded from sight as best possible by the cloth of a tent with the other side occupied by a low stone wall and a thick forest.

"Jophien," said Thor, she lifted a brow and looked to him where she half-lay on her bedroll. "Why do these Rogues not retake their home from this Andariel? Are their numbers too few?" From what he had seen, there were a good many of them gathered at the encampment.

The woman shook her head, although not necessarily in denial of his question. "Andariel is no ordinary demon; she is one of the Lesser Evils."

Thor frowned. _'Lesser'? _"Are there...Greater Evils?"

Despite his lack of skill at reading body language- so said his brother -even Thor could read the tension in both his companions' bodies. For a brief moment, Jophien's eyes jumped to Samiel's, as Samiel swallowed thickly.

"Not 'Greater'..." responded the Amazon, "...Prime. Prime Evils."

"Jophien," Samiel sat up from his spot, eyes intently on her, "he doesn't need to know this. You'll be gone soon, yes?" he asked to Thor.

But before Thor could answer the Amazon spoke, "Simply speaking of them will not bring them upon our heads."

"No?" challenged the young man. "And yet we hear whispers in every corner of a Dark Wanderer that plagues all of Sanctuary with a growing darkness."

Her burning yet curious eyes jumped to his. "What have you heard of it?"

He seemed to shrug it away. "I don't know. After the Eastern Gate at the Rogues' Monastery was taken, creatures have been pouring in, filling all the lands." He spoke as if reciting the words of others. "Andariel takes up her seat in the Monastery itself." He hesitated. "The...Dark Wanderer still moves, they say. East..."

Jophien's eyes never left the Necromancer's. "Yes. Toward Lut Gholein, I hear. But it no longer matters, even that city, the Jewel of the Desert, will fall to his footsteps." Her gaze fell. "There's little we can do but fight in his wake. Save as many as we can...take...take vengeance for the fallen." She looked completely away now as she took in a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"Then," tried Thor after the silence had gone on for too long, "you will not fight? Take the battle to your enemy?"

They both looked to him.

"You know nothing of what travels these lands, outlander," said the Amazon. A white haired head nodded lightly in agreement. "_He_ cannot be so easily destroyed." Her eyes moved to Thor's, and suddenly, as if a chill had moved through the camp and covered the moon, the three shivered. "He is the Lord of Terror. One of Three. He was said to have been vanquished below the town of Tristram but that is a lie."

"Many say," began Samiel, "that the Dark Wanderer goes before him, a harbinger of sorts."

Jophien sighed. "The Battle of Tristram took many warriors' lives. Blood Raven, she was a captain of the Rogues...at the time."

"Oh?" asked Thor, wanting to know more about the enemy they were to face tomorrow.

"She was magnificent." Jophien almost smiled. "The battle waged beneath the town of Tristram and many died. But in the end, the Rogues, warriors and sorcerers standing against Diablo emerged triumphant." Her smile waned. "But...as time grew, so did the realization that the warrior who defeated Diablo may not have done so permanently."

"Then this Diablo somehow lived?"

"We don't know, not for certain. Yet every corner of Sanctuary somehow..._knows_ he is not gone. We can _feel _it."

Samiel fidgeted with his cloak as he spoke. "If his brothers awaken all is lost. We won't hold back the tide, no matter our numbers."

_Prime Evils. Three. Brothers._ "Then there's more than one of them?"

The two nodded. "Mephisto," said Jophien, "the eldest, Lord of Hatred, then Baal, Lord of Destruction, and Diablo, Lord of Terror. Princes of Hell, greatest of all demon-kind. They seek to destroy our world."

Thor frowned. "Do you have no other allies? Surely there are more than just you mortals to fight these creatures?"

They glanced at each other, bemused. Jophien regarded Thor with an odd look. "Your words are stranger than most outlanders'. Why do you call us 'mortals' as if you aren't one yourself?"

"Well, perhaps it is too long a tale to tell..." He smiled uncertainly.

The Amazon perked an eyebrow. "We don't appear to be going anywhere, and...I doubt any of us will sleep very much, at least not yet."

They stared expectantly at him until he finally gave in, nodding.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The red, horned creature that approached Loki was hideous. He wore an elaborate head-dress, filled with skulls, bones and bloodied feathers, and many other grotesque adornments that did nothing to improve his image. His frame was wide- if not thick -and he was almost as tall as the dark women, with wiry, disproportioned muscles and sharpened, protruding teeth. In one hand he carried a top-heavy staff of some sort, and Loki guessed it might have some magical use; this too was filled with bones and other unsavory decorations.

It growled loudly as several of a similar looking creature- _now where have I seen those before_ -hobbled into the room. They too were red, although smaller. As they neared, Loki recognized them as the same monster-like things that had attacked him when he first arrived in this horrible land.

When the trickster tried to sit up, the large one struck him across the head with his staff. "No get up!" it screeched with an oddly high, whining voice. The small ones hooted and howled and growled, bouncing up and down and yelling something like 'Rakanishu!' or some such nonsensical thing. They kept repeating the word until the big one growled at them and they immediately settled. Loki briefly wondered why he couldn't understand the word, or if it perhaps wasn't a word at all.

Looking at these creatures in better lighting, they suddenly seemed less intimidating. They were shorter than Loki, if not as slim. They appeared brutish and easily swayed, if obviously savage. If he had more of his magic and didn't have the women to deal with, he could perhaps kill them and escape. His wounds were still healing but were more than halfway there, so long as he didn't jostle himself too much or reopen them.

The smaller red creatures began moving around, using something like red paint to draw on the dirty floor. They hopped about as a few of the others used some sort of clear liquid to cover the paint. When they came nearer to Loki, they hissed 'Rakanishu!' at him but moved on. This close, Loki realized it wasn't _paint_ but _blood_ they were using. _Of course, what should I expect?_

Before long they were done. They moved to the side and away from Loki, who tried sitting up again to see better what they had drawn on the floor, and again he was struck in the head with a staff. "No up!" the larger one screeched.

Loki rubbed his head but stayed down. He was- needless to say -becoming less and less intimidated by these creatures. "At least," Loki spoke up, "tell me what you're doing. What's that you've drawn there?" he asked in a tone that didn't hide his opinion on the intelligence of these monsters.

He was struck on the head yet _again_. "No ask question!" _Well,_ Loki decided, _you'll be the first I kill, O Eager One._

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The other two were laughing. Thor couldn't help but feel somewhat put out by their reaction to him telling them he was considered a god to some; they seemed to think the notion ludicrous.

"Do you not have gods in these lands?" asked Thor over their laughs.

Jophien settled somewhat before answering with slight chuckles, "Perhaps in some lands, outlander, but they do not walk _amongst_ us as you are. Those of Heaven may be considered gods, but that is a discussion for another day."

_Hm._ Perhaps he could at least change the subject. "Then you do have allies, in this...Heaven you speak of?"

Jophien shook her head, smiling, "Those of Heaven do not interfere in the lower planes- it's forbidden to them, or something of that nature."

"I've heard the same," agreed the Necromancer.

"And yet those of your 'Hell' are constantly interfering here. What sense is there in that?"

Jophien chuckled. "Who says the forces of Heaven and Hell must make _sense_? We are nothing to them." She drank from her waterskin and sobered a little. "Still, I have also heard of _some_ from Heaven meddling in our affairs from time to time."

"Oh?" asked Thor eagerly. Samiel, too, looked intrigued.

"Perhaps," she stated. "But they are only rumors, of some on the higher planes coming to Sanctuary to aid us." She shrugged. "Perhaps it's only tales told by mad men, how can we know?"

Samiel nodded.

The Amazon turned to Thor. "Do you- do your kind interfere with 'mortals'? Surely for them to call you a god you must be powerful. Do you _meddle_ in the affairs of lesser beings?"

Thor tilted his head, nodding somewhat. "From time to time, yes. If the need is dire and the threat not of their own making."

The two nodded slowly, listening.

* * *

**A/N: I wanted to make this chapter longer but the next bit was a little too long and I couldn't divide it up (and would make the next chapter shorter) so I left it. Sorry for the lack of Loki lately. He's all by his lonesome having to deal with horrible monsters trying to do...horrible stuff to him- so yeah, pretty much par for the course for him. ;D**

**As far as Jophien and Samiel's explanation about the conflict going on, not everything they say is necessarily accurate. It could be their opinion or they could be right.**


	12. Blood Raven - Ch 5

**A/N: I'd originally divided these into more chapters but the flow didn't feel right so I changed it by making the chapters longer. So, fewer chapters but they'll each be longer. ;)**

* * *

**_Blood Raven_  
**

**\- ****Chapter 5 -**

"Rakanishu!" screeched one of the little ones as he walked around the room.

Loki rolled his eyes. _Again with 'Rakanishu'!_ "Are you quite done yet," he asked. "What's your purpose here?" Anticipating a blow to the head, he blocked it with his shackled arms. "Would you _kindly_ stop doing that?" he said, only half mockingly. It was truly becoming annoying and he already had a headache along with his other injuries.

The leader growled and pulled his staff away quickly. "You silent, meat-bag!"

Loki's eyebrows shot up as he fought a smirk. _'Meat-bag'? What sort of ridiculous insult..._ "I'll be _silent_ when you answer my questions, you dull-witted-" Another hit to his head, one he only half-blocked. "Dammit, stop that! What's wrong with you monsters-"

Another hit, harder this time. Irritated and with his frustration mounting, Loki grabbed the staff and wrenched it out of the creature's knotted hands. It screeched in protest as Loki sat up on his knees. He then reversed the staff and began hitting the red monster back.

The little ones jumped up and down and screamed their favorite word- to which Loki had the time to roll his eyes -strangely not coming to the aid of their master. But then... Loki's eyes widened. _What?_ He felt the distinctive feel of magic surging through the staff. He couldn't absorb it into his body, but he realized what it was.

With the commotion growing, the two women standing guard at the edges of the room rushed forward. Before they could reach them, however, Loki gripped the staff tightly and concentrated, searching for whatever kind of magic the staff held. Finding it, he quickly directed it toward the nearest female warrior. A large ball of fire emerged, flying across the room and striking the woman dead-center. Before the other one could reach him, Loki hit the other with a second blast. _Yes!_

It was all-too humorous when the little red monsters began panicking and running about, going for the doors. Several of them remained, however, and suddenly their leader was upon him. Seeing the bravery of their master, the others- and even the cowardly ones that ran -rushed toward the mischief god.

_This can't be good._ Loki wrestled with the large one for the staff as the smaller ones jumping around frantically. Although he hurt, Loki gritted his teeth and ignored the pain. Realizing quickly this creature had very little in regards to physical strength, Loki ripped the staff out of its hands and hit it across the head as hard as he could. A sharp _crack!_ was heard as the red demon fell limply to the floor.

For a moment there was silence, the smaller ones staring blankly. Then, in a screeching uproar, the remaining ones ran for any door they could as fast as they could, tripping over each other.

_How...pathetic_, thought the prince as he used the staff to help him stand. He considered incinerating the beasts as they ran but that almost seemed too...cruel. He couldn't believe himself- these were monsters! Like tiny red Jotnar or something.

Then, a bright flash of light burst all around. Loki fell to the floor to shield himself, the staff suddenly forgotten. Looking in every direction, there was fire surrounding him. _Fire!_ Loki hated fire. Wielding it with the staff was somewhat fun, but he didn't want to have it directed at him!

His magic was still too low, he wouldn't be able to put it out. The flames went higher and higher and he couldn't help but gasp and curl up in a ball in a futile effort to save himself. Burned alive! What a horrible way to go. He had never been badly burned before and he wondered if it could truly kill him.

_No!_ The heat was stifling, he couldn't breathe. He tried to look around, find some escape, but the fire was as a wall in every direction. He covered his head with both hands and hoped for a quick death..._somehow,_ _please_. He coughed as he inhaled the smoke, trying not to choke on it.

Then, slowly, the flames lowered, if not completely. They still encompassed the area where he lay, but they no longer towered high enough or hot enough to cook him alive.

Loki coughed and inhaled desperate breaths, trying not to cry at the burning in his lungs.

Through the wavering heat of the fire he could see the white and red form of the woman from earlier, the staff suddenly in her hands as she threw it aside and it snapped in two. Her wide black eyes stared at him as she spoke. "_No escape, little one. You cannot leave. If you will not join my army of the dead, then you will be a gift for Andariel_." She smiled that terrible not-smile.

_Who is this Andariel?_ Loki wanted to ask, but his lungs were straining against the heat, less than before but still too much. He uncurled slightly, trying to find a better position to shield himself. No use.

The metal shackles on his wrists were heating up. He didn't know what to do with them. He tried to hide his wrists between his body and his legs but it only helped a little.

"Why are you doing this?!" he screamed before looking up, but she had gone.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The three hunched down as they approached the Burial Grounds of the Rogues. A narrow passageway that led between a break in the stone wall was a perfect place for ambush, but the two assured Thor the undead were not fond of anything but frontal assaults. Not very clever, they said.

The sun peeked over the large trees surrounding the Grounds, and although Thor had asked if it would be better to attack at night, Jophien assured him that most of these creatures could see just as well in the dark.

"There," Jophien pointed ahead as the three gathered near a large bush. She indicated a high black iron fence that closed off the entire middle-section of the Grounds.

Peering through the dissipating mist, Thor asked, "What exactly are they burying here?" Both his companions looked back at him. "What?" he asked at their curious faces.

"You mean you don't know?" asked the young Necromancer.

Thor lifted a brow. "Should I?"

"Do you not bury your dead?"

The prince frowned. "Bury them? Why would we do that?"

"It doesn't matter, doesn't matter," interrupted Jophien before the other two continued. "Let us continue ahead, I can see the mausoleum from here." The three moved as they snuck across the far-too-open space. _Why are we even hiding?_ Thor wondered.

Before they could pass a broken, moss-covered gate that led into the center, some sort of decrepid _thing_ clawed its way out of the ground to their left.

"Oh, of course," said Samiel in a flat tone, "she's been raising the undead."

Then to their right, near a large stone slab set upright in the ground, another undead thing emerged, rotting flesh filling their nostrils.

"Can you do nothing about this?" whispered Jophien, somewhat loudly. Thor thought she was addressing _him_ until Samiel spoke.

"What can _I _do?" he returned. "You don't know very much about Necromancers, do you?" He smirked as three more of the undead burst out of the ground, some taking notice of the three warriors.

"Who does?" she countered. "Your kind are so secretive and reclusive, not to mention you have the tendency to turn to _darker_ ways-"

A bolt of white magic flew passed her and struck one of the undead. Samiel shrugged as the Amazon glared at him. "Behind you!" she shouted at Thor as one of the corpses lunged at him.

Before long they were surrounded by hordes of the things, noses twitching from the acrid stench.

Thor sliced through three more as another two were already on him. They were weak, but there were so many of them it made it difficult to make any progress or movement away from them.

Jophien had climbed a nearby tree and was picking them off with her bow at an alarming and quite impressive rate. Still, more and more came.

Glancing to his side, Thor noticed his Necromancer companion struggling to stay back. His movements were swift and his magic potent, but they were slowly creeping closer and closer the more they gathered. "This is not going as well as can be expected!" Samiel yelled over the putrid bodies.

"Is it your habit to state the obvious?" yelled back Jophien as she jumped out of the tree and felled two undead by landing on them, then buried an arrow through the eye of another.

"Only when I don't think we'll make it," answered the Necromancer.

Thor's sword cut through bone and flesh alike; he dispatched two, then removed the head of another.

"Are all your kind pessimists?" asked Thor. "We've barely begun!" His fist went through the chest of one- to his disgust -but he pulled out quickly to cut down several more.

"And here I thought you knew nothing about my kind!" shouted Samiel from somewhere beyond the gate. _When did he move inside there?_ Thor wondered.

Jophien had somehow climbed the tall iron fence and was again felling the enemy with her arrows, her legs twisted around the metal, keeping her anchored. Certainly a versatile form of fighting, thought Thor.

"Samiel!" yelled the Amazon. "Behind you!"

Thor heard a surprised shout from the young man and, uncertain what was happening but very worried for him, Thor pushed passed the throng of bodies and waded through them as through a sea. _Where are they coming from?_

"Damn!" he heard Samiel from ahead of him, thankful he was at least still alive. "It's Blood Raven! Thor, where are you-"

The thunder god stepped up beside him in time to see a flash of red and white passing across their vision at the edge of the enclosed space. "Jophien!" Thor called as he cracked a skull of another undead with his fist. "Can you hit her?"

To his surprise, Jophien was clearly trying, and _failing_. Arrow after arrow barely missed the too-fast Blood Raven, and even arrows that managed to hit didn't seem to slow her down, although she made a noise of pain- which didn't sound like any voice Thor had ever heard.

"She's too fast!" yelled the Amazon. "Samiel, can you hit her with your magic, your daggers?"

"I've been trying; even if I hit her, she's barely affected."

All but ignoring the blows of the undead- which truly did very little against him except get in the way -Thor ran toward the white and red demon. But before he could even get halfway to her, she was already too far away, her arrows flying and barely missing his companions.

"_Join my army of the dead!_" screamed what sounded like far too many people shouting at once. Thor then realized it was actually _Blood Raven_ speaking, and alone.

Samiel smirked, saying, "You join my army first..."

Thor thought he heard Jophien mumble 'About time' but he certainly _did_ hear her shout: "Protect Samiel!"

Not quite understanding since the Necromancer appeared to be doing fine on his own, but still trusting the warrior woman, Thor again flew through the undead to join his companion.

Samiel raised his hand in a fist, then the other, looking down. "I really don't like doing this," he whispered. His arms shook as if under some invisible strain.

Thor suddenly realized why he needed protection- he was reciting a spell! Whatever it was, though, it was far more complex than the energy bolts he had been using; he didn't move from his spot and couldn't raise his weapons while he mumbled the incantation.

Thor's sword occupied the undead while Jophien distracted Blood Raven. Suddenly, a hand burst out of the ground near Thor, then another.

"I can't say what use this will be!" shouted the Necromancer to the Amazon. "Mine are too few!"

Another arrow missed the quick demon, if only by a small margin.

The two new undead burst from the ground, showed their heads, then clawed along the grass until they freed their legs. "More?" grumbled Thor. He moved to fell one of the two before he heard Samiel yell, "No, don't! Those are mine!"

Thor's eyes went wide, "What?" And suddenly the undead creature he had meant to kill passed him and went to attack another undead. Thor blinked in surprise. The other joined its companion as it entered the throng- except these were fighting for _them_.

"What exactly did you think a Necromancer _does_?" asked Samiel as he remained behind his undead and shot bolts of energy passed them.

Thor shook his head, setting aside the strangeness to analyze later. Allies were allies, no matter what they were, or the fact that they were...dead.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The ceiling shook slightly, although the mischief god still stuck inside an inferno didn't notice.

_It's too hot...so hot._ Loki tried to move again, tried to do _something_, but in every direction was fire, fire, _fire_. He could barely move much less _do _anything about it. Still, mustering every ounce of strength he could, he reached out a hand in an attempt to drag himself.

He was suddenly determined not to die here. Yes, perhaps he would be burned terribly, but if he could get past at least one fire-wall he might get out quickly enough to put himself out. Loki cried at the mere thought of it, but couldn't stop himself as his right hand moved. He panted and coughed, but managed to move at least a little-

Something caught his eye. _What's that?_

Squinting through the oppressive brightness and heat, he saw the red liquid from earlier, somehow still there beneath the fire. Then suddenly, the blood ignited, lighting up and glowing like a river of lava. The light spread, following the lines the little creatures had drawn.

Words spoken by the red and white woman jumped into his head: "_If you will not join my army of the dead, then you will be a gift for Andariel_." Gift for Andariel. Even without a clue as to who that was Loki guessed that this 'Andariel' was probably not _here_, in this place.

Even through the haze of burning pain and exhaustion Loki could sense the magic building as the drawn lines continued to light up, drawing a picture of some sort that Loki couldn't make out. Did it matter? Perhaps it did. The leader of the pathetic red monsters from earlier had clearly been a magic-wielder of some sort. A ritual, then? But to what end? Was this some form of travel, a way to transport Loki elsewhere?

His eyes widened. _Elsewhere._ Loki knew that Thor was here, _somewhere_ here, but for all he knew this ritual could send him across the planet. And what might lay on the other end?

With panic filling him, magic growing all around and the fire clouding his senses, Loki reached out his hand to the flames, trying with everything in him to get away- _must get out!_ He screamed when the flames hit his hand, the metal of the shackles burning hot, and...and- Loki's eyes widened. _The Tag!_ He yanked his hand back, worrying over it. He didn't know what to do.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Thor grabbed his head and felt a sharp pain shoot through his spine.

"What's wrong?" yelled Samiel as he summoned another undead from a grave to replace the one that had fallen.

"I don't know..." Thor shook his head. Then suddenly, he knew. He _knew_ it was Loki, but even more so, he knew he had to get to him. There was something _wrong_. His instincts flared and he realized what was in danger wasn't just his brother, but something that he _needed_ to keep safe, because what if something happened? What if they could not return? He didn't quite understand why he felt this urge, only that his entire body now _compelled_ him to reach Loki. "My brother!" yelled Thor to the others. "He's here!"

"Where?!" asked Jophien where she dodged Blood Raven's arrows as she attempted to close the distance to the fast demon.

"I don't know," Thor shook his head, trying to get his bearings, trying to _think_, get ahold of himself. Suddenly having something compelling him to act without his control was disconcerting. "He's close."

"The mausoleum," said the Amazon, suddenly near him as she loosed an arrow, then pointed. "He can only be there. Go, we can handle Blood Raven!"

"Are you certain-?"

"Yes! Save your brother, that's why you're here, isn't it? Go, we will be fine."

Without waiting for another word, Thor bolted for the door of the stone structure that jutted out of the ground.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Loki screamed and screamed. _No, no, no! I can't stay here, I-I can't leave here- leave Thor!_ He clenched his jaw and cried as he cradled his burned hand, his every nerve screaming in pain.

The ritual was almost complete, he could feel it, _see_ the shape surrounding him, the blood a bright-red vein on the ground.

He tried to breathe, _just keep breathing_, but he felt his breath barely coming now, choking on the ash and smoke surrounding the room. He curled further into himself and continued to hope for a quick end, an end that probably wouldn't come before he burned to death.

Strangely, a glance at his hand told him the Tag around his wrist was completely unscathed, although the shackles were slowly beginning to melt. He screamed at the hot metal around his wrists, wishing he could at least remove them. They were steadily getting hotter and the pain was getting worse with each second.

Seeing the line of light almost reaching its end through his evaporating tears, Loki screamed as loud as he could, yet uncertain why as it was so useless-

A distant voice caught his ear as well as the distinctive _ring_ of metal clashing against metal. He thought he heard a voice. Could that be...his brother's voice? Perhaps, calling his name? Now he was sure he was hallucinating; there was no way Thor could find him here.

Despairing and believing he would never see his brother again, Loki cried louder- only to hear his name being called _again_, and this time he was sure it was closer.

"Thor?" he whispered, voice hoarse.

"_Loki!_" still far but even closer.

"Thor!" Loki tried to scream, his voice still too small, hoarse and dry from the hot air. "Thor," he tried again, not much louder. "Brother...please. I'm here!"

"_Brother! Where are you?!_"

"I'm here!" tried Loki again, but his voice wouldn't carry. Distraught and certain he would be transported away any moment, away from his brother, away from possible rescue, he screamed, uncertain what else to do. He felt like his throat was being shredded but he didn't care. He screamed again, louder. Then again. The sounds of metal clashing and his brother's voice stopped for a moment and Loki wailed.

Then suddenly- "Loki!"

The second prince almost passed out at the sight, almost too good to be true. He tried to speak but could only manage to cough and sputter until blood came out.

Thor rushed toward him but was stopped by the flames. He bared his teeth and looked around, trying to find a way past.

_There's no time! _Loki wanted to scream, but his voice wouldn't come. Unable to make words, Loki wailed again- a pathetic small sound, but it was enough to make Thor's face turn to him, suddenly so serious and hardened.

Before Loki could even consider it, Thor jumped clear over the flames and landed where the younger prince lay, falling on his side. He sat up quickly. "Brother. I have you." He gathered him into his arms, then, without hesitating, jumped back over the flames and out of the room in a hurry.

On the way out, barely able to cling to his elder brother, Loki glanced back into the room. Finally, he saw the shape drawn in the floor; a giant red star inside a circle._ What an odd thing to draw_, thought the trickster.

* * *

**A/N: Ooh, hey, at least Loki's with Thor now! Even if I had to go and burn him first... Also, if you're thinking that giant red star is a pentagram, then you'd be right. I always found it weird in the game that there were these random giant flaming stars (that burn you if you pass through) in the middle of hallways or rooms. Like, wtf? They served no function that I could see..._or do they__?_ Lol.**

**In case you guys are wondering what _Rakanishu!_ is, it's just something that the Fallen shout at random, which I always found funny. You eventually come across "Rakanishu" in the game, who turns out to be a minor Fallen boss monster. Presumably he's revered in their culture or something, I dunno.  
**


	13. Blood Raven - Ch 6

**A/N: I had this chapter all ready to go until I realized I had expanded the chapters (in another saved file), so I had to go back and add the rest of it, lol. Get ready for a super long author's note(s) at the end of this! Apparently I'm in the mood to be long-winded today. ;D**

* * *

_**Blood Raven**_

**\- Chapter 6 -**

"Blood Raven!" screamed Jophien. She couldn't do this but she knew she _had_ to, knew it was her duty, more than anyone else's. "Fight me and stop this! Stop this running and hiding as you've always done!"

A laugh echoed all around, deep and sinister. "_My army will destroy you..._"

_Has she lost too much of herself?_ the Amazon wondered. A glance at her companion ensured that he wouldn't need her help, he was clearly tired but holding his own well enough alongside his two summoned minions.

"Is that all you can say?" yelled Jophien. "After all this time, all that you've been through- that's all that's left of your mind? Destruction and mayhem?"

An arrow whizzed passed her head as she rolled and ducked behind a tree, her own arrow at the ready. She quickly stepped out and let one loose, its tip finding its target but barely slowing the former Rogue down. Still, with each strike, she _was_ slowing down. They were, perhaps, whittling away at her defenses.

"_You speak as if you know me, Amazon..._" Her voice was low, sinister, and, to Jophien's slight horror, she had lost sight of her.

Stepping out of her cover carefully with arrow drawn, she made her way out, glad that most of the undead were distracted by Samiel. Sharp eyes darting about, she breathed steadily, waiting for a flash of red and white to show itself.

A surprised cry reached her ears as she whipped around, ready to let her arrow fly.

_No..._

She had found Blood Raven, but the Rogue in turn had found her companion, who had doubtless been too occupied with the hordes of undead to sense his enemy coming up behind him.

She held him around the neck with one large red-covered hand, her claws digging into his skin. One glance at the undead hordes told her Samiel still had control of his minions, but they wouldn't last without his help.

"Stop this!" screamed Jophien, although it was pointless; she knew the demon would never heed her words, she was no longer...no longer... "Let him go!" She approached as she nocked her arrow again.

A terrible laugh filled the air. "_Why?_" cooed her sinister voice. "_I'll take his life then make him mine. Wouldn't you like that, Necromancer?_" she tilted his head slightly up so he could see her.

Samiel's eyes met Blood Raven's, his eyes wide but steady. His sudden calm sent a shiver up Jophien's spine. "But," he said quietly, almost too quietly for her to hear, "I was already yours. Don't you remember?"

Staring at him, Blood Raven first frowned, then her blackened eyes widened as she gritted her teeth. She let go of him as if he'd burned her. "_No..._"

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The way back up to the surface might have been easier- given the lack of opposition since Thor had dispatched most of the undead -but was so much harder as he had to carry the half-conscious, bleeding and burned form of his little brother. Thor held him tightly and worried at what might have happened, aside from the obvious, of course. Could it _be_ any worse than what he had seen? He desperately hoped not.

The stone door to the surface had been broken on the way in, thus, the crown prince burst through what was left of it, his concern growing for his companions. _Wait- damn!_ Why did he come out here? And with an injured Loki? Yet there wasn't truly a safe place to set him down, was there? He hadn't managed to take out all the creatures beneath the mausoleum.

Whatever he might have decided, however, was interrupted at the sight of the terrible Blood Raven clutching at her head as if in pain.

"_Be silent!_" she screeched. Her undead minions stumbled about and fell, as disoriented as their master.

"Don't you remember me?" asked Samiel to the pale demon, hands out as if to calm the creature.

Blood Raven growled and screamed at him, baring her sharp teeth. "_These thoughts are not mine- be silent! I'll rip you to pieces, eat your flesh, stretch every part of you across these- across these grounds..._"

Jophien ran up to Samiel. "Who are you!" she shouted. Then, to Thor's surprise, her arrow then pointed at the pale-haired man. "How can you know her? _I_ know her- _knew _her. She was...she was..."

"Your sister," finished the Necromancer, almost too quietly to hear.

The blonde woman's eyes widened. "How can you know that?" She pulled the string on her bow taut, ready to release it into her companion's head. "How can you know that?!" she repeated.

Samiel stared straight at her. "Because you killed me."

Her eyes went wide as a flicker of recognition flitted across her face, although it dissipated almost immediately, replaced by a scowl. She looked ready to respond, but instead her arrow flew- not at Samiel, but at Blood Raven. The demon released its head and grunted loudly as arrow after arrow filled her body. She fell against the metal of the fence as next there were javelins flying at her, the Amazon stabbing her repeatedly, anger and desperation filling the space.

"She's not my sister!" Jophien screamed, "_She's not my sister!_ You died at Tristram!" Blood Raven tried to get up but couldn't find a way past the angry blows of the Amazon. "You were so great there! You fought for our family- our people! How can you betray us? How can you give into this- this..._corruption_?!"

And suddenly there was only a body, limp and unmoving, _dead_. Jophien continued to assault it, however, and Samiel just stood there as if paralyzed. Thor wondered if he imagined a tear trickling down his pallid face.

Disturbed by the sight before him, Thor gently set down Loki- away from the bulk of the disoriented undead -and quickly grabbed the Amazon's arms to stop her. "Stop, stop," Thor gently whispered in her ear, holding her back. And to his relief she didn't attempt to fight him. "She's dead, my friend, she's dead..."

The Amazon breathed harshly through clenched teeth, hands fisted and still angry, yet also, almost relieved. "No," she said quietly as she stepped away from the body, "she died a long time ago."

.

The Rogue Encampment was still at least a day away and Loki was too injured to move very far, until he healed a little more, at least. The Necromancer and the Amazon cleared out the area nearest their camp as Thor looked after Loki, determined not to leave him for a second.

Their camp was small but warm, although Thor had to move Loki away from the fire when he nearly panicked at the sight of it the last time he awoke- delirious and mumbling desperately about 'I don't want to go' and 'Where are you?' The thunder god soothed him back to sleep and kept something between the fire and Loki's line-of-sight the whole night.

His two companions were more or less whole, but only physically. All the good cheer of their trek to the Burial Grounds was gone, a somber tension replacing it. Until finally, after the second hour of watching them avoid each other, Thor had had enough of their silent brooding.

"What was _that_ all about?" he asked them, both still standing, his voice brooking no argument as to whether they would answer. His cradling his little brother in his arms didn't seem to diminish the demand in his voice as they both looked to him.

Jophien stared for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts, then turned to Samiel. Her voice was hard but not unkind. "Who are you?"

He avoided her gaze, eyes dark and away from the crackling fire. "You still don't remember me."

"Should I? Back there, you said I killed you. What did you mean by that?"

Again, silence. Then he murmured, "That is the end of the tale. Shouldn't I start at the beginning?"

Not waiting, Jophien slowly, almost purposefully, sat down on a log.

Her white-haired companion glanced at her, but turned his back to them as he regarded the darkness. "Have you ever killed a Necromancer, Lady Ireul?"

The Amazon's eyes went wide. "How do you know that name? And...why ask me that again?"

"Your sister told me the name when I first met her. Isn't that the name of your fallen house?" He completely ignored the second question.

"Then you _have _traveled; I was wrong."

He snorted a little. "No, you weren't. Your lands were my first stop, I...Well, I never traveled very far from there." He lowered his head. "But...you didn't answer my question."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I already answered you before, why make me repeat myself?"

Samiel nodded. "That was me," he stated blankly, eyes still away.

He said it so casually, Thor blinked, wondering if his senses had deceived him. _Does he mean..?_

"W-what?" whispered the Amazon.

The white-haired head looked up, as if to the stars, although the sky was blank and dark, veiled. "Do you know what it's like, to be barely sixteen years old, so _fascinated_ by the Amazons that you would go out of your way to attempt courting one, then to find that _what_ you are- not just an uninvited male, but something they consider dangerous -has caused such an uproar that the elder sister of the one you love kills you when you attempt to sneak in to meet with her?"

This was...not what Thor was expecting.

Jophien stood up, eyes wide as she approached Samiel. "That...that was _you_?" He nodded. She shook her head fiercely, as if in denial. "But- _no_, that Necromancer was there to harm us. I was sent by the Captain herself, she said..." Her shoulders slumped. "She said a dark sorcerer had been sneaking into our village to harm my younger sister, that Hana was not even aware...of him..." She ran her hands across her face then covered her eyes with one. "That was _you_."

"That was me," he repeated, still staring off into nothing. "I was in love with your sister." Thor could almost hear a fond smile cross his lips. "_Love_. How foolish of us. At that age and we thought we knew _love_. How pathetic."

"I-I don't know what to say, I..." she shook her head. "But...how were- how _are_ you alive? You were dead. I buried you deep, your heart had stopped."

_They bury their dead. I suppose it was a good thing for him that he was not burnt on a pyre._

Samiel nodded. "Needless to say it took me...quite some time to get over the shock of waking to... Well." He moved his head so at least his profile could be seen, although he still didn't look at them. "I knew I couldn't be killed- that was what made me reckless, at times."

"What do you mean?" interjected Thor for the first time.

The young man finally turned around, but stared at the fire. "A spell. A very powerful one. It's a long story but suffice it to say I've since had it removed it. One nightmare involving waking up and clawing my way out of the earth is more than I need in a lifetime." He bowed his head and avoided their intense gazes.

A heavy silence lingered between them for a long time, no one daring to move, or even to breathe too loudly. The night was suddenly so much colder.

"I'm sorry," said Jophien, abruptly. Samiel looked to her, his eyes glassy. "I'm...so sorry. I didn't even- I never even thought about how young you were. I only thought about my sister, her...safety..." she trailed off.

He nodded. "Did she ever...wonder about me?"

"I don't know. Although, now that I think on it, she was quiet and depressed for months after...it happened. I thought she was simply getting over what the sorcerer-" she glanced at him, "what...I thought he had done to her. After some time she seemed to let it go. I was glad for her. She trained _so hard_ after that; the battle circle was practically her home for years afterward." She looked away. "I realized later she was only running away from something, now I know what." She finished the last part in a low murmur.

A low groan drifted up from Thor's lap as Loki shifted. Heavy lids fluttered and cracked lips moved without words.

"Brother?" said Thor in nearly a whisper.

The other two moved closer, with Jophien taking a knee next to the gods. "Is he alright? His hand- I'm so sorry we didn't get to him sooner."

Thor shook his head. "He will heal."

"But-"

"Even from this, yes," he said quickly. "I fear more for his mind than his body."

The Necromancer moved closer. "What's that on his arm?"

Thor tensed for a moment, then realized, _why keep it a secret?_ "It is what will get us back."

"Back home?" asked Jophien.

"No," responded Thor, quietly. "We cannot return home with it, but it will take us to a place that might return us home some day. I...we hope." In fact, Thor wasn't certain how much more time they had, if the way back might close on them. The last two times they had returned within a day. This time, though... Might they have missed their window? Was it even possible?

"Is it a teleportation artifact?" Samiel asked, an eyebrow perked.

Thor looked up to him, curious. "What do you know of them?"

He shrugged. "Not much, except that they are sometimes used to travel great distances. There is one in the Rogue Encampment, although rarely used as no one remembers the sequence of spells to activate it. Even Akara seems to have forgotten. It's Horadrim magic, if I remember correctly."

Jophien nodded in agreement.

"I know nothing of this 'Horadrim', but can you tell me anything else?" Thor looked between the two, the Amazon seemed at a loss.

"I'm not certain," said Samiel. "How is this artifact powered? With runed spells, perhaps, or your brother's mana?"

The thunderer thought on it a moment, suddenly feeling an urgency to leave. Would it matter now? Could they even _get_ home? "I don't know." He couldn't get a good look at the device around his brother's forearm as it was covered in bandaging. Still, he did remember some sort of writing on it. And yet...it also drained Loki's magic reserves. "Perhaps...both?" he answered.

"Both," repeated Samiel as he hunched down next to him.

Another groan passed through Loki's lips as the trickster began to move, or attempt to move, at least.

"Brother?" said Thor, gently maneuvering him so he might wake up, but without further injuring him. "Can you wake? I need your mind now, your... I know nothing of these things." He felt like a terrible brother, trying to wake his severely injured sibling to answer some questions. Still, he didn't know why, but he just _knew_ they should leave soon. "Loki?" he shook him lightly.

Another groan, louder this time, but raspy and so pathetic that Thor wanted to hit himself. A single green eye cracked open, then slowly, the other. "Thor?" said Loki with a painful sounding voice. He blinked slowly, trying to open his eyes wider. A final blink and his eyes were suddenly so wide. "_Thor?_"

"Yes, brother, I'm here."

Loki's entire body seized up suddenly as he grabbed frantically at Thor's chest. "Wh-where are we- I don't want to go. Thor, _we have to get out of here!_" His ruined voice spilled out quickly as he barely had time to take a breath. Glancing behind him, he flinched and buried himself against Thor's chest. "Who are they- wh-who are you?" he asked with one eye trained on the two strangers in his midst.

"Shh, it's alright, brother," soothed Thor. "They are friends. They aided in your rescue; they won't harm you."

"Hello," greeted the Amazon.

A flick of the hand was all the Necromancer gave.

But when the two stood up to give the brothers some room, Loki panicked at the sight of the fire, struggling in Thor's arms. "Thor! Brother-!" he hissed as Thor quickly arranged himself to block the view of the fire.

"It's alright, everything is alright. It is only a small campfire, there is no danger. All is well."

Loki's breath came in quick gasps but subsided with the fire out of sight and his brother's whispered reassurances, murmured close and comfortingly in his ear.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Somewhere, lingering at the edges of his mind, Loki felt a tickling, a strange sense of _urgency_. He knew they needed to go somewhere soon- they both did.

"We have to leave here..."

"I know, brother," said Thor.

Loki realized he had spoken aloud. "But...where are we supposed to go?" he whispered, eyeing one of the two strangers that now sat on a log nearby. _Jophien_, she had said. And the other, the pale man, was Samiel.

"Back to the House, remember?" said Thor, breaking through his thoughts.

_The House!_ Loki frantically brought up his right arm, only to find the device blocked by strips of cloth. He started to tear at it, to get to _it_, the _Tag_, but he was quickly stopped by Thor.

"Loki, what are you doing? Your arm needs time to heal."

"But we have to leave! Why can't we leave?" His mind was filled with too many disparate images, he couldn't line them up correctly. Raging fire and a large House, almost a palace, and dank dark walls, and white marble ones, and a woman of red and white, and searing, burning pain-

"...Brother!" Thor was holding him tighter, eyes intense. "Please, I need you now, can you answer me?"

_He needs me, needs me..._He_ needs me? _It seemed strange for some reason. Loki blinked at him. "Wh-what did you ask me?"

Thor sighed and let Loki go, setting him back down onto his lap. "Can we return now, using the device?"

Loki shook his head. "No...no, we- I can't. My magic is fully taxed trying to heal me, I'm- I can't, brother. What are we to do?"

"I don't know," Thor looked about worriedly.

"You sense it, too, then?"

Thor's eyes met his. "I..."

"This...sense of _urgency_, that we _must_ leave soon?"

Thor nodded. "What happens if we pass that point?"

Loki didn't have an answer so he said nothing, staring with wide eyes.

"I don't mean to intrude," a man's voice interrupted the brothers' thoughts. Thor looked at him as the dark-clad man approached and crouched next to the them. "But," he continued, "if your body is too occupied with healing to use your magic for anything else, might you use another's mana- eh, magic," he corrected himself, "to power this device of yours?"

Loki shook his head. "Another cannot power the device from the outside; _I_ must power it." He wasn't sure how he knew that, he just did.

Samiel's eyebrow perked. "And...do you have the ability to absorb another person's power..?"

"Yes," Loki blurted out, eyes going wide. "Do you- do you know someone-?"

"Me." He gave a small smile. "I practice sorcery as well. However, I'm uncertain if there's any difference between our forms of magic, it may prove...disastrous."

Loki shifted his gaze, thinking. "Or it may do nothing," he pointed out.

Samiel nodded. "Or that."

"Pessimist," called a woman's voice from behind Thor as Samiel rolled his eyes. Jophien walked up to them, her demeanor indicating she had something to say. Still, she hesitated. "Samiel," she began, "have you ever heard of a scroll used to open portals to a specified location?"

The man frowned a moment but answered, "Yes. Why?"

"I...believe I have one."

The two princes stared at the other two, confused. _Teleport?_ Loki thought, _To where?_

"Why are you asking me this," asked Samiel.

The Amazon shrugged. "I don't know, perhaps because we might need help from the Rogues if you intend to go through with this plan, or perhaps because it's best not to try something like this out in this wilderness."

Thor still held tightly to Loki, as if afraid he might be whisked away suddenly. "I don't understand," spoke Thor. "You mean to teleport us to the encampment with a scroll?" The other two nodded, yet somewhat uncertainly. He looked to Loki. "Do you know anything of this?" he asked.

Loki wasn't certain what to say. Teleportation was a common magical means of travel, but he had never heard of it contained within a scroll. Needless to say, he was intrigued.

Samiel scrutinized Jophien. "Where did you obtain this _very rare_ parchment?"

"Does it matter?" she returned.

"Perhaps it does, but," he sighed, "it's not really the time for stories... Can you read it, Amazon?" She shook her head and handed the rolled up piece of- seemingly very old -vellum. The Necromancer studied it as he carefully unwrapped it, although he appeared to be in as much a hurry as the princes. After several minutes of study, he nodded. "It's an ancient text but not unknown to me. I should be able to open the portal... I hope," he added.

Thor and Jophien looked slightly wary at his words, but Loki spoke. "May I," he cleared his scratchy throat, "see it?"

"Loki," Thor admonished, "he can read it, why do you wish to see it? We have no time."

"Just one look, brother, what can it hurt?"

Thor sighed somewhat loudly as he kept his eyes on the parchment.

Curiosity. Loki had ever been so curious about things, especially concerning the arcane arts; he couldn't help it. This was something new, and he _had_ to see it before they left.

The Necromancer shrugged and leaned down, showing the scroll to the younger prince. It was fascinating, needless to say, and as old as it appeared- or so Loki assumed by the faded writing and weathered look of the parchment. He understood the words but couldn't decipher their meaning.

"Satisfied?" asked Samiel with an amused and understanding expression.

The Necromancer backed away as Loki nodded. "What do the words mean?" the second prince asked. "They appear nonsensical to me."

The man's eyebrows shot up as he looked to Jophien, then back at Thor and Loki. "You understand this language? But...how?"

"That," Thor interjected before Loki could answer, "is an explanation for another day. My apologies, Samiel, but we must return soon. Can you cast the spell, or...whatever it is the scroll does?"

Samiel nodded and stepped away from them.

Loki was a bit annoyed at being interrupted by his elder brother but understood the urgency. _I hope this works. _

* * *

**A/N 1: Sooo, when I first started writing this story my thought was: "Hey, this'll be easy, I'll just throw in some random characters from the game to tag along with Thor and Loki and woo!- adventure!" Yeah. Didn't quite work out that way. Sorta went crazy with backstories and personalities, heh. Hope they're not distracting or anything. (The characters from the game don't have backgrounds because (I assume) the_ player _is the character.)**

**A/N 2: As those of you who read my other fic _Pray for Rain _already know, I'm going on hiatus with all of my longer stories. I'll finish this episode, of course, but whether I'll be posting the next episode soon is kind of up in the air. I'm almost done with the next one, but I haven't worked on it lately so I'm not sure. If I happen to finish it I'll post it anyway (because why not?), but I'm not saying it definitively.  
**

**Sorta A/N 3: Random comment about the story compared to the game, here. I'm making TP scrolls rare because I found it strange that people would so easily teleport all over the place (same with potions). Works well in a game, not so much in a story.  
Oh also, notice how Samiel called Jophien "Lady Ireul"? I made the Amazons a bit more concerned with titles and such, at least compared to the Rogues. If you'll remember, Kashya mentions to Thor that the Rogues don't keep titles like that. I'm only mentioning this because the Amazons and Rogues are kind of similar but still very different.**

**A/N 4 (because I'm on a roll now! but hurries to say it): ...I may have unintentionally given Loki pyrophobia. Oops. But hey, he's a frost giant, it's probably best he have that anyway! *scurries away, satisfied with excuse***


	14. Blood Raven - Ch 7

**A/N: Final chapter! Hope you like. ;)**

* * *

_**Blood Raven**_

**\- Chapter 7 -**

As Thor walked through the blue, shimmering, oval doorway, he held tightly to his younger brother in his arms and prayed to the Norns they make it where they intended. Samiel had clarified that he could choose the destination, yet he appeared wary, as though he wasn't certain himself. Jophien, too, seemed ill at ease.

Fortunately, and to their relief, they stepped through and almost immediately found themselves walking into the Rogue Encampment. There had been something of a crushing feeling accompanying the journey, but little else.

Thor heard Loki inhale sharply as they walked up behind their companions, only to realize it was because he was holding the trickster too tightly. "Sorry, brother," Thor murmured as the four approached the fire pit at the center of the camp.

"Put me down," Loki whispered as he struggled.

"But-"

"No, brother!" Loki hissed. "I'm _fine_. Set me down."

Thor wasn't exactly convinced but knew his brother's stubbornness, so he slowly lowered him to the ground. While it was clear that Loki was embarrassed to be held around so many strangers, it was becoming clearer that he simply didn't want to be near the fire. He averted his gaze and lingered closely behind Thor as several of the Rogues, and others, approached.

The captain of the Rogues, Kashya, rushed through the crowd. "We know you have defeated Blood Raven. We saw the great plume of white across the sky, her soul finally at rest," she said with a relieved smile.

After Blood Raven's defeat, there indeed had been a great outburst of power that had shot out from her corpse, as if Thor's own lightning had lost its way, spreading out in every direction and above. In its wake, the remaining undead had fallen back into their eternal slumber.

Thor nodded to her as he put an arm around his brother, not relenting when Loki tried to push him away. Strangely, his resistance made him feel better; it meant Loki was slowly returning to himself, at the very least.

"Kashya," the Amazon greeted with an extended arm that the Rogue captain took wholeheartedly. "Yes, Blood Raven is defeated." She looked to her companions and Thor noticed that Samiel had donned his cloak from earlier, his hood once again hiding his face. "Your ancient Burial Grounds are whole once again." She was stating a victory and yet her voice did not reflect that.

"At great cost," responded the captain with somber disposition, as if Jophien's melancholy had spread. "We lost many good Rogues in our attempts to stop her. You have our eternal gratitude, Jophien, and," she turned to Thor and the others, "the rest of you as well."

Thor and Samiel nodded, but Loki did nothing, face downcast.

The elder and leader of the camp, Akara, approached, her weathered face for once not hidden by her dark purple cloak. "I see you've found your brother, outlander," she said to Thor. "A blessed turn of events. A warm greeting from the Rogues of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye," she said to Loki with a small smile. The trickster said nothing but nodded, picking at the bandages around his wrist.

"Where did you find him?" asked Kashya to Thor, her silver mail gleaming in the firelight.

Thor frowned as he looked to her. "He...had been taken by Blood Raven. Your scouts were correct in assuming it was him entering your Burial Grounds." He looked around at the Rogues gathered. "I take it there aren't many men in these lands, it was a sound conclusion," he finished with some amusement. He wanted the captain to know both that he _knew_ that she had known but also that he understood her reasoning, even if he didn't exactly agree. He might have done the same to protect his own men.

The Rogue captain looked confused. "My scouts? I don't understand your meaning, they never saw any man entering the Grounds."

_What? _There was a long pause as Thor digested the words. The thunder god's eyes went to Samiel's and all at once, he understood. It was _he_ that had told him. Thor let go of Loki and rushed over to the Necromancer, who backed up a few steps at the approaching Thor. "You lied to me!" bellowed the god, pointing, although he didn't lay a hand on the other- _yet_. He would hear his explanations first, if any.

"I know," Samiel said quickly, eyes darting to Jophien's then back to Thor's.

"You only told me that so I would go to the Burial Grounds with you."

"Yes, but I-"

Thor grabbed him by the collar with one hand, the revelation of _why_ falling fully on him. "You cared nothing for finding my brother," he seethed. "Your purpose was only to find Blood Raven- you _used_ me to get to her. We only found Loki by a happenstance!" Thor pushed him back further and held him with both hands now. Samiel stumbled and raised his hands in surrender, but otherwise didn't resist.

Jophien approached and whispered over Thor's shoulder. "Is this true?" she asked Samiel.

The Necromancer hesitated but answered quietly, "Yes."

"You would have sacrificed my brother for your own gain?!" Thor shouted, not caring who else heard. "He could have been anywhere! I would have been helping you and neglecting my own brother. How _dare _you-!"

"I know, I know!" yelled Samiel back, yet still not fighting. "I _know_ what I did was wrong, but I _couldn't_ just...couldn't just-"

"Just what?!"

"_Leave_ _her there_." There was a heavy pause as a quiet settled over them. "I didn't have the strength. I was all alone, I didn't- I couldn't allow..." He took a deep, shuddering breath. "I couldn't allow _her_ to continue in that horrible existence, suffering as some abomination for all eternity." Thor saw a gleam fall down his shadowed face. "I...I _couldn't_. Wouldn't you do the same for your brother?"

And it was true, _so true_ that Thor couldn't deny it. He _would_ do the same, and yet... "You should have told me," he said quietly as he let go of the man, only now realizing he had lifted him off his feet.

Samiel didn't move as he lowered his head. "Would you have helped, with your brother still out there?"

"I don't know," answered Thor honestly. "But we might have been able to help _each other._ I don't know."

Jophien stepped up next to them and turned to Samiel, "Why didn't you ask for help from the others-?" She suddenly stopped, cutting herself off. Her shoulders sagged as if she already knew the answer. "Because they wouldn't have helped a Necromancer," she finished.

Samiel nodded. "I am sorry." His face remained downcast. "I should only have asked Jophien for help, but..."

The elder prince said nothing but understood. The Necromancer had seen an opportunity and he took it.

Thor was vaguely aware of the group still watching them, awkwardly standing around, although far enough away that they might not have heard all of their conversation. Looking back at his brother, he saw Loki shivering- or more, perhaps, trembling -and trying not to look at the fire. "Brother," Thor sighed apologetically as he pulled the slim figure and wrapped his arms around him.

The younger didn't resist, but he lifted his head to regard Thor with a serious expression. "We should go, Thor."

"I know," he answered.

"I will help you, as I said," Samiel said softly as he stepped close to the brothers. "It's...the least I could do."

Akara and Kashya both approached, although clearly they had no idea what was going on. "You are all welcome to stay here," spoke the elderly Akara. "We don't have much, but we will be forever grateful for your help against Blood Raven. Stay, if you wish."

The Amazon shook her head. "Thor and Loki have no choice but to leave, so it seems. I may yet stay a while; it's time this fight was taken to the enemy," she said boldly, although Thor saw not the eagerness of youth in her, but the determination of the hardened veteran. "I will help in this fight against Andariel, and come whatever may in the future."

The two leaders of the camp nodded once in appreciation.

"And you?" asked the Rogue captain to the Necromancer. "We know nothing of you yet you aided in Blood Raven's death. Might you stay as well, good sir?"

Samiel ignored her as he looked to the brothers. "Will you take my help?" he asked, leaning in. "Will you _allow _me to help?"

Thor looked to Loki for the answer, unwilling to volunteer his more-knowledgeable brother for something that might prove dangerous. He worried for him, but he also knew they _had_ to leave soon. The time was approaching fast.

The second prince nodded.

"What aid do you require?" asked the Rogues' elder, watching them intently.

"There is not much time, or so I gather," said the Necromancer, half to Akara and half to the brothers. "We don't have time to explain, but," he turned to Jophien, "can you find a quiet place for us to work?"

The Amazon nodded and began arrangements with the camp's leaders, speaking in hushed tones.

.

Soon, they were all inside a large gray tent at the edge of camp, Akara and Kashya having been asked to wait outside. Knowing that what they were doing was of a magical nature, Akara had offered her help; Samiel, however, declined, saying something about it being 'his responsibility', although Thor didn't catch the rest of his mutterings.

Samiel had asked Loki to lay flat on the floor atop a large fur rug. The trickster fidgeted, clearly as nervous as Thor about this, although Thor wondered if it wasn't because of the sense of urgency they both felt, instead.

"Your hand," Samiel intoned softly as Loki reluctantly obeyed, giving his hand to him.

Thor sat on the other side of his brother. "Are you certain this will not...damage him?" he asked Samiel, gaze intently on Loki.

Loki smirked. "That is a question you should be asking me."

"Then I ask you the same question: will this harm you?"

The smile lingered but a moment, then fell. "I don't know. This world...isn't ours." Obvious. But the fact that Loki, who rarely stated the obvious except perhaps to tease Thor with his supposed stupidity, felt the need to say it made the knot in Thor's stomach tighten. Battle and blood and death Thor could handle, but his brother in danger... He suppressed a shiver.

"May I touch him?" asked Thor to the Necromancer.

"Best not to," he answered with an apologetic glance.

Thor nodded but stayed close.

The Amazon lingered somewhere near Loki's head but stayed back. She would pace a few steps, then stop, then start the process over. Thor wondered why she worried so. From what he knew, she had just met the Necromancer, and surely she cared very little for Loki, she had known him for even less a time.

Samiel's grip on Loki's hand tightened as he shifted on his knees. "Have you ever done this before?" he asked the prince. Loki shook his head. "Nor I," Samiel smiled nervously. "As saccharine as it might sound: together we should be able to pull this off. Just..." he closed his eyes as Loki followed suit, "...try not to pass out."

Both sorcerers gritted their teeth as Samiel braced himself against the floor with his other hand.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

There were bursts of energy shooting along his limbs, crackling up his spine and back out again. Loki tried, he _tried_ to hold in the scream bubbling up his throat, but it came out anyway, ripped from within his chest.

"Don't touch him!" he heard somebody yell.

He heard another voice, a woman's, farther away, but he couldn't make out what she was saying.

Loki's body jerked as he tried to make his hand let go, _let go_, but something in the back of his mind told him he couldn't, not just yet. He _needed_ this and his body knew it.

_Just a while longer, don't let go, hold on..._ The voice in his head wasn't his own.

"Brother," said a voice he _definitely_ recognized, "are you alright?" _A bit premature, Thor._ "All will be well, please hold on. How much longer?"

Loki heard a strained noise from someone beside him, nearly at his ear. "I... Stop asking!" answered the man, who was clearly in distress.

Although he tried to open his eyes to see who it was, he only succeeded in lifting his eyebrows. When another burst of power- _magic_, Loki remembered -shot up his arm and into his body, Loki arched his back off the ground and stifled a yelp.

"Samiel!" Thor shouted.

"Not yet!" choked out Samiel. _Samiel?_ Loki suddenly remembered. _The man...and the woman!_ His memories jumped back just as a long stream of continuous energy flowed up his arm, the sporadic bursts stopping. His eyes shot open.

"Loki..?" Thor leaned over him.

Eyes jumping to his side, he saw the Necromancer's head slowly sliding forward, toward the ground. A long breath escaped him and Loki suddenly realized Samiel was no longer in control of his magic output.

Hissing, Loki tried to pull his arm away, but the connection was too strong and he couldn't break free.

"What is wrong?" asked Thor, confused.

"Thor-!" Loki tried to back away, tried to loosen the Necromancer's grip, but it was useless. Samiel was already halfway unconscious, eyes falling, back bowed and head nearly to the ground.

"What do you wish me to do?" shouted Thor.

If they were unable to break the connection Loki worried that it might kill the other. It wasn't something that was common, but he had heard of it happening before, especially if the spellcaster's life-force was tied to their magic. He couldn't be certain how it worked here.

"Get him away," Loki's voice pitched higher. "He could die!"

Thor wasted no time; he jumped clear over the two and immediately grasped Samiel around the waist, pulling him back. A crackle of energy, with a loud popping noise, struck Thor as he fell on his back.

"Brother!" yelled Loki, but Thor immediately jumped up, surprised but seemingly unharmed.

The connection was broken, however, with Samiel unconscious on the floor.

Thor's eyes fell on him, then on Loki. "Are you alright?" he asked. When the younger prince nodded, Thor yelled to the slit in the tent, "Jophien!"

The Amazon, who had apparently been outside, rushed back in. "What happened?" she asked worriedly as she crouched next to Samiel, checking him.

"I don't know," admitted Thor. "Loki?"

Loki shook his head, laying back down. It wasn't that he didn't know, exactly, he was just too tired to explain.

He heard Jophien sigh. "The Rogues don't like being kept in the dark about happenings in their own camp, it took much to keep them at bay."

Thor chuckled tiredly. Loki's eyes slid closed as he heard Thor shuffling toward him. "Brother?" rumbled the thunderer's soft voice. Loki felt his head being lifted. He cracked his eyes open as Thor smiled at him. "I assume it was successful?" he said with hope in his voice.

Loki nodded, although sleepily. Despite the fact that he could sleep for a week after this, he couldn't shake the need to leave.

"We need to go," Thor nodded in understanding, eyes staring intently.

Loki nodded again.

The elder prince looked behind him, nodding toward Samiel. "Is he well?"

"Still unconscious," answered Jophien.

"_Will_ he be well?" tried Thor, instead.

A short pause. "I don't know."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Loki, can we get back from here? Do you have enough...power?" Thor helped the younger prince sit up. Loki still appeared weary but less in pain than before.

The trickster didn't answer, but as he slowly removed the bandaging around his arm, showing the burns completely healed, he nodded. "Yes."

Before Loki could stand, however, Jophien said softly, "Thor."

Turning, Thor saw that the Necromancer's eyes were slowly blinking open. He shifted to see him better, but couldn't bring himself to leave his brother's side.

Thor meant to speak but Loki did so first. "Are you alright?"

Samiel's pale eyes blinked open as he groaned. "I've certainly seen better days," he smirked tiredly. He looked to Loki. "And...are you-?"

"Yes, it worked," Loki interrupted with a smile. "Thank you." Samiel responded with his own small smile, although it was slightly crooked. "Thor?" said Loki.

"Hm?" Thor looked at his brother. Then at the look on his face, he nodded, "Yes. We must go. Jophien?" The Amazon turned to him. "If he is well enough, I would ask that both of you not be here when we leave." At the woman's raised brow he added with a smile, "It is not a secret, neither would we mind if you watched us leave, however...it may be dangerous for you; we still do not fully understand how this works."

The Amazon nodded and extended her arm to him. "I understand, son of Odin." Thor took the offered arm, grasping it tight. "And you," she said to Loki. "I have only just met you, but I wish you well on your journey- both of you."

Loki nodded to her with a cordial smile.

"Samiel?" Thor briefly pulled himself from Loki and knelt next to the Necromancer.

"Teary goodbyes are not really my style," said Samiel, still supine on the floor. He put up a hand, though, with a tight-lipped smile.

Thor took it and smirked. "Nor is it my brother's," he heard Loki snort behind him, "so you need not worry." Samiel nodded. "Goodbye, Necromancer. And you as well, Jophien of the Amazons. It was my pleasure to fight by your side."

"Brother," Loki whispered, "we must go."

Thor nodded as he stepped up and helped his brother stand. Loki bowed his head slightly to both Jophien and Samiel as they returned it. "Perhaps we'll meet again someday," said Loki, although, like Thor, there was no way for him to know if that could be true.

Without prompt, the Amazon helped her Necromancer companion out of the tent just as both brothers felt the time approaching.

"Are you ready?" asked Thor.

"Would it matter if I were not?" returned Loki.

Thor smiled. _Perhaps not_, he thought.

Loki touched the device around his wrist as it began to glow, blue lights along its surface showing runes Thor had never understood. Then, they were gone.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys have enjoyed this latest episode! I'm not sure when I'll be posting the next episode, as I said, it could be a while. **

**_Random A/N about ideas for future episodes:_ Since you've now seen two episodes, which, I think, are fairly different in genre, I wanted to say that if you have any ideas for episodes, feel free to make a suggestion. Because of the set up, almost anything at all could fit. Crossovers or original stories will both work, or a combination of the two. Obviously, some ideas will appeal to me while others won't. If your idea is meant to cover a multiple-chapter episode, and not a 'short', then it should at least have an adventure theme- although that genre is very broad so it could cover a lot. Other than that, just try to stick to my style, i.e. I'm not likely to add romance (a crush might work) or, despite my liking whump, anything too extreme because I don't want to traumatize them over the long-term given that it's a series. If I get no suggestions, no problem, I'll think of them on my own (and I already have the main story-arc worked out), but if an idea for a random episode/short pops in your head and it fits, then why not?**


	15. These Tears I Keep for You

**A/N: Here's another short. This one isn't as fluffy as the last one. It does, at least peripherally, have a little to do with _Blood Raven_, but not much.**

* * *

**_These Tears I Keep for You_**

Lares had said where Loki could be found, and Thor went straight there. He really should have tried the library first, but given that Loki had taken to meandering aimlessly about the false forest that the AI had created for them, he'd tried there first.

The tall and ornate doors moved easily at his touch as Thor passed into the new room. What he was greeted with was not what he was expecting. Loki was lying on the floor, in almost the direct center of the vast room. At first Thor was startled and worried, but when he saw his brother's arm move to run down his face, he relaxed.

"Brother, what are you doing?" asked Thor.

The room was also darker than usual, the great windows veiled and opaque, presumably to stop the midday light from entering. That was certainly unusual, but he didn't ask about it.

Loki made a strange, annoyed sound in his throat as he lowered his hand. "Nothing, Thor."

"It doesn't look like nothing." Thor immediately laid down beside his brother, then settled comfortably as if he were not about to go anywhere. Looking at the other with a small smile, he immediately felt a bit intrusive; Loki did not look happy. Still... was it at Thor or something else?

"Why, _do _come in, brother, I'm sure you aren't interrupting anything," said Loki with some sarcasm, but not as much as should be expected if Thor were _truly_ interrupting anything.

"What could I be interrupting?" Thor asked lightly.

He looked to the high ceiling above them. He didn't notice until now, but the holographic image- that's what Lares called it -that typically displayed smatterings of constellations that were forever shifting was, for some reason, not there. The ceiling was as dark as the rest of the room, the high-domed glass muted and opaque as with the other windows. Thor's curiosity piqued. What was this, some new experiment of Loki's?

As if the younger had only just now heard the question, he snorted. "Nothing." He sighed heavily. "Nothing at all..."

Thor again felt bad, and it was intriguing to him that Loki didn't actually seem irritated _at him_. Perhaps himself? Now he really did want to know.

"No, please, brother," he said, trying to sound encouraging and interested, "tell me what you were doing before I entered. You need not stop on my account."

Again, Loki sighed. "I... I don't know." Not wanting to be pushy- Thor knew Loki rarely responded to that -he remained silent.

For a long while, it was quiet. The pervasive silence almost made Thor sleepy, and the darkness was no doubt helping that urge along. Thus, when the trickster spoke, Thor startled as if awakened from a half-sleep.

"I don't know how to explain," murmured Loki, his words small in the vast and cavernous air. Again, Thor said nothing. It didn't feel right, somehow. But his silence paid off when Loki continued, "But... perhaps I might show you instead."

Thor turned his head to him and nodded once, although he kept his smile small. "Alright," was all he said.

Loki nodded in turn, but it seemed he was readying himself, as if something important or terrible were about to happen. He inhaled deeply, held his breath, then let it out slowly. All the while he stared straight at the ceiling and his gaze never wavered.

"Alright," Loki parroted. He nodded several times again and set his jaw. "Lares?"

_"Would you like to reset the program?"_ the machine asked in her perpetually cool voice.

The prince nodded, yet almost too quickly. "Yes."

For a long while nothing happened. Thor stared at the ceiling- as Loki did -and he began to squint when he wondered if he was missing something that he _should_ be seeing. Time ticked by... then, a dim light sparked into existence, like a single point floating halfway between the floor and ceiling. It was only a fraction of a second that it existed, but a moment later it erupted into a blinding light that turned- to Thor's horror -into an explosion of fire that engulfed the air above them. Alarmed, Thor moved to shield Loki from the fire, and found Loki already turned toward him, his face quickly burying against Thor's chest.

"Stop it!" Loki screamed. "Stop it, _now_!"

As if a light had just blinked off in the dead of night, the fire immediately disappeared, and Thor couldn't remember even having felt any heat. The temperature hadn't changed, only visible light.

"Lares!" Thor bellowed to the ceiling as he continued shielding his brother. "What in the _Nine Realms was that_?!"

_"I apologize if I have-"_

"No, don't," Loki interrupted in a small voice. His face slowly lifted as he peeked at the ceiling, as if to make certain the fire had gone. "It- it isn't her fault. _I_ asked her to..."

Thor, still on edge and utterly confused, still refused to let Loki go. "What? Asked her to _what_?"

It was only now that Thor could see- in what faint light remained in the library -that Loki's face was wet. He also now realized his brother was shaking, if only slightly.

Loki shook his head and returned to lying on his back, then wiped his tears. "I still don't know how to explain," he said softly.

Moving away, and finally accepting that there was no real danger- _hadn't_ been any danger, Thor laid on his back as well, if reluctantly. Yet, he kept his eyes on Loki, whereas Loki continued to stare at the ceiling.

"Try, brother," Thor murmured. "You are..." he winced a little, not wanting to upset his brother further. Yet it was the truth so he continued. "Loki, I know you are afraid of fire now. Why would you conjure something that could frighten you so?"

"You wouldn't understand."

Thor frowned. "Why not?" He didn't want to sound defensive, but he was tired of Loki assuming he was too _stupid_ to understand some things.

"Because," he answered, inhaling deeply, "because you fear nothing, Thor."

Thor blinked. He hadn't expected that. Is that what Loki truly believed, or was he simply being his typically sardonic self? He always did seem to say such things, as if in disdain, but Thor assumed he was making fun of him in some manner, although the humor was always lost on him. But perhaps the younger had actually _believed_ such a thing all this time.

"That is not true," Thor sighed.

"No?" the younger snorted lightly as his eyes jumped to Thor's for but a moment, then returned to the ceiling. "I can't think of a single thing you fear, Thor. Prove otherwise, if you'd like, but I know I'm right."

"Just what do you take me for, brother? I fear things..."

"Like _what_?" Loki surged forward and sat up. He turned to look at Thor, eyes hard. "_Like what_, Thor. Tell me one thing. One thing, anything at all."

Thor, too, sat up, although much slowly. It was a strange subject, but he wanted to answer as truthfully as possible, especially given that whatever this was, it was apparently very important to his younger brother. So he thought hard for several moments, but the answer wasn't as difficult as he thought it would be. "You."

Loki frowned in confusion. "Me?"

"Yes, _you._ I fear for you all the time."

Loki's laugh was harsh and completely without humor, sharp and stinging to Thor. "_Me._ Ah yes, of course. I fear so much and get into so much _trouble_ that it spills over into my elder brother, because my own small self could never hold so much fear. _Of course_."

"Loki-"

The trickster huffed and stood up, then swiped at his clothing as if there were dust to be discarded there. "No, Thor," he interrupted. "It's not the same."

But before he could leave, Thor jumped up and grabbed him by the shoulders, determined to not let this fester between them. "_Loki_, tell me what this is about." Loki continued to look away, even as Thor held him with both arms. "Why did you conjure that fire?"

"Because I'm weak!" he suddenly screamed, eyes boring into Thor's, yet suddenly wet with unshed tears. "I get caught in _one_ fire and suddenly I'm having nightmares- I still see my hand burning and _I can't put it out_. It just keeps spreading and spreading. Why can't I just forget, like you do? Why must I _always_ hold onto the past, collecting horrors like a collapsed star that _can't let go_? I hoard my memories like shattered trophies, when you remain light and free- free to _be you_ without constant worry of _what will happen_." Thor stared at him and could do nothing but listen. "_Why_ can I not be like you? Why does everything haunt me so?"

This... Thor didn't know what to do with this. Had his little brother always felt this way? "Loki, I..." He had to say something, had to set it right because it _wasn't _right. Loki didn't know him at all. "Loki." The younger attempted to look down, look away, but Thor stopped him with a hand on his chin. "You are wrong. Do you understand? Do you think I do not wake up in the middle of the night with a cry on my lips? Do you think I've forgotten how I failed to save you on so many occasions? I should have been there. I should have watched you better." Loki began to shake his head, but Thor held firm. "One fear is not _more real_ or important than another. My fear for you is not less than your fear of fire, or of anything else. Do not dare to cast down _my_ fears as if they are somehow lesser; they aren't. And," Thor chuckled under his breath, but nothing at all was funny, "being afraid of something does not make you _weak_."

"But I am; everyone knows it-"

"I don't care, brother," Thor stated firmly. "For once, I am right and you are wrong." It sounded harsh, but he couldn't allow Loki to continue believing in that manner. Then, he suddenly understood what Loki was doing. He looked up at the ceiling, to where the fire had been. "The fire," Thor pointed as he walked a few steps away, "You created it to test yourself, yes?"

Loki blinked through his tears, and in a small voice, said, "Yes."

Thor smiled at him. "Then you are proving my point."

"What-"

"Bravery is not lack of fear, brother, but the willingness to _face_ what you fear. Is that not what you are doing here?"

The trickster opened his mouth, but he seemed unable to form words.

Thor smiled even wider and walked to him. "For once, Thor Leaden-tongue has silenced Loki Silver-tongue. Have you nothing to counter with, brother? Or perhaps you will finally understand that you are not _weak_. You've proven that yourself without my aid. In fact," Thor walked around casually, "I don't understand my purpose here at all."

Loki tilted his head down and said, quietly, "But... I've not been able to face it."

Thor rushed to him, arm gesturing. "It doesn't _matter_. Do you not understand, brother? You are _trying_. It matters not at all if you succeed or fail." He then smiled and placed his hand on the side of Loki's neck, causing him to look at him. "You are brave to try and face your fear. But why did you not tell me? I might have helped."

"No," he shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment. "I... I needed to do this alone."

Thor furrowed his brow. "But why? There is no shame in needing help."

"Is there not?" It seemed rhetorical, but there was also a shadow of doubt there, a genuine question.

"No, there is not," Thor answered firmly as he continued to hold to the other. "But..." Loki's eyes jumped to his, ready to look betrayed. "But why must you force yourself to do this? Do you truly believe it will help?"

"I don't know," admitted Loki in a quiet voice. "I thought, perhaps, that I might become... _accustomed_ to my fear in some way." He shook his head. "It is stupid. I don't know why I thought-"

"No, I understand," Thor said in an encouraging voice. "It makes sense."

The corner of Loki's mouth quirked. "_Sense._ Coming from you, I'm suddenly thinking it's making less and less _sense_..."

"Shut up, Loki," Thor smiled widely and lightly patted his cheek. "I can make sense if I choose to."

Loki hummed. "I'm certain you can choose to _believe _that." He then smiled, even if it was small. He walked, slowly, back toward the center of the library, then laid down there as he had before. Even with their lighter banter, he still looked nervous as he settled.

Thor shrugged and joined him, although he put his hands behind his head as a pillow. "I will help you, brother."

"It's not as if I can stop you," Loki said lightly.

"Correct," replied Thor. "So do not attempt to remove me."

Shaking his head with mock annoyance, Loki again asked Lares to 'reset the program'. Even though he fidgeted and bit his bottom lip repeatedly, there was something in his demeanor that was... different than the last few days. Thor hoped his brother's odd behavior was linked to what he'd been doing here, and that there was nothing _more_ that he didn't know about going on with the younger god. Loki was always so... closed-off. He wished he would open up more, seek Thor's help.

When the fire erupted all around, Thor couldn't help but shield Loki again, even knowing it was only an illusion. But, to Thor's surprise, Loki also did not push him away. He hid his face and shouted to Lares to stop it again, and a moment later he started it up once more.

Thor lost count of how many times they'd repeated the exercise. He was also uncertain that Loki was _actually_ gaining anything from it. But after they left the library that night, Thor couldn't help but notice that his brother's face looked less strained, somehow, the wrinkle between his brows all but disappeared. He still lingered in the cool forest day and night, but he allowed Thor to join him when he wished.

The next Door would open soon, but for now, at least, they laughed and watched the sun set and the moons rise, the company of the other all they needed.

Thor never did learn to stop shielding Loki, but Loki, at least, never told him to stop.

* * *

**A/N: I'm very close to finishing the third episode, it just needs to be edited and proofread, etc. I'm having a hard time getting over a certain hurdle in it, but hopefully I'll get it out in the next few weeks. Knowing me, it might be the next few months, though. :P  
**

**Hope you guys enjoyed this short in the meantime!**

**P.S. To the guest reviewer who reviewed the last episode: First off, thank you! Glad you're enjoying my story. :D And secondly, your ideas are great! I've actually had an idea somewhat close to your second one, interestingly enough, so something like that could happen with a future episode. If you have more ideas, feel free to present them!**


End file.
